Iris virginica |
Iris missouriensis |
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Rocky Mountain iris, western blue flag |
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Habit | Herbs to 60 cm tall. | |
Roots | fleshy; rhizomes freely branching; stout, covered with old leaf bases. |
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Stems | unbranched or up to 2-branched. |
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Leaves | basal leaves light green, usually white basally or sometimes purplish, 3–12 mm wide, glaucous; cauline leaves similar to basal. |
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Inflorescences | 2–3-flowered; bracts keeled; outer usually shorter than inner. |
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Flowers | perianth blue, lavender, or white, veined deeper violet; sepals deeply veined lilac-purple, with yellow-white signal at base of limb; claws yellowish white, veined and dotted with purple; floral tube less than 12 mm; style tips rounded; margins irregularly toothed; stigmas 2-lobed. |
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Fruits | round in cross section, with 6 ridges. |
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Seeds | globular to pear-shaped, light brown, wrinkled. |
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2n | =38. |
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Iris virginica |
Iris missouriensis |
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Distribution | ||
Discussion | Wet meadows, roadside ditches, margins of streams. Flowering May–Jul. 300–2000 m. BR, BW, Col, ECas, Lava, Owy. CA, ID, NV, WA; north to British Columbia, northeast to MN and southeast to NM, south to Mexico. Native. The leaves of I. missouriensis are unpalatable to livestock, and the species is considered a noxious weed in pastures. This species is morphologically variable across its large geographic range. |
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Source | Flora of Oregon, volume 1, page 261 Ann Willyard |
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Sibling taxa | ||
Web links |