Iris hexagona
Iris hartwegii
Carolina iris, Dixie iris
Hartweg's iris, rainbow iris, Sierra iris
greenish with brown leaf scars, branching from older buds quite some distance proximal to apex, forming widely scattered colonies, 2–2.5 cm diam.
creeping, not producing dense clumps, covered with remains of old leaves, slender to moderately thick, 0.5–0.9 cm diam.;
roots fibrous.
1–2-branched, solid, 3–9 dm.
simple, solid, 0.5–3 dm.
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 deciduous, blade pale green, not pink basally, 2–4.5 dm × 0.2–0.6(–1) cm, sometimes glaucous, margins not thickened;
cauline usually 1–several, spreading, sheathing for about 1/2 length, foliaceous, blade not inflated.
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.
1–2(–3)-flowered;
spathes divergent, separated by 1.5–4 cm, linear to linear-lanceolate, unequal, outer 5–11 cm × 4–7 mm, inner 5–6 cm × 2–3 mm, herbaceous, apex acute.
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 lavender, cream, or pale to deep yellow;
floral tube funnelform, 0.5–1(–1.5) cm;
sepals oblanceolate, 4–7 × 1.4–2 cm, base gradually attenuate;
petals narrowly oblanceolate, 3.5–6 × 0.5–1.1 cm, widest at about 1/2 their length, base abruptly attenuate, claw 1–2 mm wide;
ovary nearly cylindrical, 1–2 cm;
style 1.6–3 cm, crests overlapping, obtusely angled, 0.5–1.1 cm;
stigmas acutely triangular, margins entire;
pedicel 0.5–2.5 cm at anthesis, lengthening to 3.5–7.5 cm at maturity.
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.
oblong-oval, 3-angled, tapering abruptly at either end, 2–3 cm.
in 2 rows per locule, light brown, D-shaped or irregularly rounded, 4–6 mm, corky.
brown, irregularly D-shaped, wrinkled.
= 44.
= 40.
Iris hexagona
Iris hartwegii
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.)
Plants with pedicels 2.8–4.7 cm, and flowers light purple or bluish violet have been recognized as subsp. australis. Plants having a 3-flowered inflorescence unit, leaves about 1 cm wide, and pale yellow flowers with golden yellow veining have been called subsp. columbiana. Plants having both flowers open at the same time rather than consecutively, pedicels averaging only 1 cm, long narrow style arms and crests, and floral tubes 1.2–1.5 cm have been named subsp. pinetorum.
Iris hartwegii hybridizes with I. douglasiana, I. innominata, I. macrosiphon, I. munzii, I. tenax, and I. tenuissima. It is known from Butte County to Kern County.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
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