GENUS i. 



IRIS FAMILY. 



537 



i. Iris versicolcr L. Larger Blue-flag. Poison- or Water-flag. Fig. 1328. 



Iris versicolor L. Sp. PL 39. 1753. 

 Iris virginica L. Sp. PL 39. 1753- 



Rootstock horizontal, thick, fleshy, covered with 

 the fibrous roots. Stems terete or nearly so, straight 

 or flexuous, 2-3 tall, often branched above, leafy; 

 leaves erect, shorter than the stem, somewhat glau- 

 cous, 6"-i2" wide; bracts commonly longer than the 

 pedicels, the lower one sometimes foliaceous; flowers 

 several, violet-blue, variegated with yellow, green 

 and white; perianth-segments glabrous, crestless, 

 the outer ones spatulate, 2'-3' long, longer and wider 

 than the inner; perianth-tube dilated upward, shorter 

 than the ovary; capsule oblong, obscurely 3-lobed, 

 about i long and 8" in diameter; seeds 2" -3" broad, 

 in 2 rows in each cell, the raphe indistinct. 



In marshes, thickets and wet meadows, Newfoundland 

 to Manitoba, south to Florida and Arkansas. Snake-, 

 Liver- or Flag-lily. May-July. 



2. Iris hexagona Walt. Southern Blue-flag. 

 Fig. 1329. 



Iris hexagona Walt. Fl. Car. 66. 1788. 



Rootstock stout, thick. Stems terete, usually simple, 

 straight or flexuous, leafy, i-3 tall; leaves i'-ii' 

 wide, green, not glaucous, the lower often 2-3 long; 

 flowers solitary in the upper axils, sessile, similar to 

 those of L versicolor, but larger, the broader outer 

 crestless perianth segments often 4' long and over i' 

 wide, much wider than the erect inner ones; perianth- 

 tube rather longer than the ovary, a little dilated up- 

 ward; capsule oblong-cylindric, 6-angled, about 2' long; 

 seeds in 2 rows in each cavity. 



In swamps, South Carolina to Florida, Kentucky^ ?) and 

 Texas. Not certainly known within our area. April-May. 



3. Iris georgiana Britton. Carolina Blue-flag. 

 Fig- i33- 



Iris caroliniana S. Wats, in A. Gray, Man. Ed. 6, 514. 1890. 

 Not /. Carolina Radius, 1822. 



Rootstock stout, fleshy. Stem rather stout, simple 

 or branched 2-3 tall, equalled or exceeded by the 

 bright green leaves which are 8"-i' wide; flowers 

 solitary or 2 or 3 together, lilac, variegated with yel- 

 low, purple and brown, pedicelled; pedicels somewhat 

 shorter than the bracts; outer perianth-segments 

 broadly spatulate, 2l'-3' long, with narrow claws, the 

 inner narrower and nearly erect ; perianth-tube about 

 y long above the ovary; capsule oblong, obtusely 

 3-angled, ii'-2' long; seeds in I row in each cavity, 

 4"-5" broad. 



In swamps, southern Virginia and eastern North Caro- 

 lina to Georgia and Louisiana. May-June. 



