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Carolina iris, Dixie iris

Iris bracteata

Siskiyou iris

Rhizomes

greenish with brown leaf scars, branching from older buds quite some distance proximal to apex, forming widely scattered colonies, 2–2.5 cm diam.

sheathed with old leaf bases, slender, 0.6–0.9 cm diam.;

roots few, fibrous.

Stems

1–2-branched, solid, 3–9 dm.

simple, solid, 1.5–3 dm.

Leaves

basal stiffly erect, blade yellow-green, lightly ribbed, 8–9 dm × 2–3 cm;

cauline 1–2, foliaceous, blade 1.2–2 dm, exceeding subtended flower.

basal with abaxial surface of blades deep glossy green on one side of fan, light yellow-green on other side, pink or red-tinged basally, strongly ribbed, 4–6 dm × 0.8–1 cm, rigid, margins not thickened;

cauline 3–6, imbricated, closely sheathing stem ca. 2/3 length, spreading distally, bractlike, blade inflated, often shorter than basal leaves.

Inflorescences/Inflorescence units

1–2-flowered, branch units 1-flowered;

spathes lanceolate, subequal or unequal, apex acute;

outer foliaceous, 15–20 cm, usually exceeding flower;

inner 8–10 cm, herbaceous, with scarious margins.

simple, units 1–2-flowered;

spathes closed tightly around pedicel and ovary, lanceolate, 5.2–9 cm × 6–8 mm, subequal, herbaceous, margins scarious, apex acuminate.

Flowers

perianth blue to violet, rarely white;

floral tube funnelform, grooved in line with grooves of ovary, 2–3 cm;

sepals spreading horizontally, obovate to oval, 8–8.5 × 4 cm, claw greenish with prominent yellow midrib which is pubescent on each side at base, apex rounded;

petals erect or spreading-erect, oblanceolate to spatulate, 7–9 × 2 cm, claw veined with green;

ovary roundly triangular in cross section, with wide grooves at angles and concave sides, 2–3 cm;

style convex laterally from central reddish ridge, 3.5–5 cm, narrower than claw of sepals, crests erect, overlapping, semiovate to triangular, 1–5 cm, margins coarsely toothed;

stigmas 2-lobed, lobes triangular or rounded-deltoid, margins entire;

pedicel 2.5–3.5 cm.

perianth cream to buff-yellow;

floral tube 0.8–0.9 cm;

sepals with deeper yellow signal, veined with purple or brown, obovate-lanceolate, 6.5 × 2.5 cm, base gradually attenuate into wide claw;

petals narrowly oblanceolate, 7–9 × 0.8–2 cm, base gradually attenuate;

ovary nearly circular in cross section, 1.5–2.5 cm, base gradually attenuate into pedicel, apex abruptly acuminate into floral tube;

style 2.2–3 cm, crests spreading, yellow, not veined, 1.2 × 0.9–1.7 cm, margins toothed;

stigmas triangular or tongue-shaped, margins entire;

pedicel 3–6.2 cm.

Capsules

hexagonal in cross section, with 3 alternate sides plane, others with 2 rounded ridges with shallow groove between them, 2.5–3.5 × 2–2.5 cm.

nearly circular in cross section, tapering abruptly at each end, 2–2.5 × 1–1.5 cm.

Seeds

in 2 rows per locule, light brown, D-shaped or irregularly rounded, 4–6 mm, corky.

dark brown, irregular in shape, wrinkled.

2n

= 44.

= 40.

Iris hexagona

Iris bracteata

Phenology Flowering Apr–May. Flowering May–Jun.
Habitat Margins of wetlands, low roadsides Shady forests, particularly ponderosa pine
Distribution
from FNA
FL; SC
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
CA; OR
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Iris hexagona is one of the rarest of all our native irises. We had seen herbarium specimens from seven localities in five counties of South Carolina. In searching for living plants at each of these sites we found that six of the seven are now under the water of Lake Moultrie. After extensive searching, one small population has been located at the other site, in a state park at Charleston, which is being watched carefully by the rangers of the park. A good-sized population has since been found in Dixie County, Florida, north of the small town of Shamrock, and another in neighboring Taylor County. These two populations are in the drainage system of Georgia, which in turn is fed by some of the streams from South Carolina. So far, though, I. hexagona has not been found in Georgia.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)

Iris bracteata is limited to one county each in northern California and southern Oregon. It hybridizes with I. chrysophylla, I. douglasiana, I. innominata, I. munzii, I. purdyi, and I. tenax.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)

Source FNA vol. 26, p. 392. FNA vol. 26.
Parent taxa Iridaceae > Iris > subg. Limniris > sect. Limniris > ser. Hexagonae Iridaceae > Iris > subg. Limniris > sect. Limniris > ser. Californicae
Sibling taxa
I. bracteata, I. brevicaulis, I. chrysophylla, I. cristata, I. douglasiana, I. fernaldii, I. fulva, I. germanica, I. giganticaerulea, I. hartwegii, I. hookeri, I. innominata, I. lacustris, I. longipetala, I. macrosiphon, I. missouriensis, I. munzii, I. orientalis, I. pallida, I. prismatica, I. pseudacorus, I. pumila, I. purdyi, I. savannarum, I. setosa, I. sibirica, I. tenax, I. tenuis, I. tenuissima, I. tridentata, I. verna, I. versicolor, I. virginica
I. brevicaulis, I. chrysophylla, I. cristata, I. douglasiana, I. fernaldii, I. fulva, I. germanica, I. giganticaerulea, I. hartwegii, I. hexagona, I. hookeri, I. innominata, I. lacustris, I. longipetala, I. macrosiphon, I. missouriensis, I. munzii, I. orientalis, I. pallida, I. prismatica, I. pseudacorus, I. pumila, I. purdyi, I. savannarum, I. setosa, I. sibirica, I. tenax, I. tenuis, I. tenuissima, I. tridentata, I. verna, I. versicolor, I. virginica
Name authority Walter: Fl. Carol., 66. (1788) S. Watson: Proc. Amer. Acad. Arts 20: 375. (1885)
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