i 



May - June 

 Swamps, ponds 



WILD IRIS (Blue Flag) 

 Iris shrevei Small 



By late ^fny \\lion tlie pond is full of the life and 

 izrowtli ntid sonir of ahnost-sunnnor, the wild irises 

 li;i\i' ((Hill' into hlooni iirouiul the shores. The })ond 

 shore is a place of |)l,iiit zones, 'i'lic wettest of all is the ojx'ii water where 

 submerged water i)lants grow ami dueks feed. In shallows the lotn.^^es 

 are coming up, and among them the great hiuc heron slowly walks, 

 fishing. The wet swamp is where the cattails anil bulrushes grow, and 

 where the redwings and rails choose to nest. And then comes the wild 

 iris zone, and the docks and persicarias on which the mallards feed in 

 autumn. Beyotid are the drier ])lac(\>^ where willows border the ])(md 

 and the yellow warbler builds a neat nest among willow twigs. 



Now in the iris zone the .-lini blue silk buds quiver and unfurl them- 

 .«!elves with the coming of the sun. Dew dampens the .«ipeai*s of leaves. 

 Tho pointed blue l)ud. as jnire and ])erl'cct as the new day iti^elf. o])ens 

 ipiickly and its petals spread themselves to the sky and the sun. They 

 are lavender-bhie. deeper on the three veiny falls with their opale.scent 

 coverts and their yellow beards; i)aler on the three upi'igbt ])etals arching 

 over the heart of the ilower. 



Now to the veiny guide lines on the falls there come the bees which 

 push their way under the opal-colored coverts to reach nectar and pollen 

 deep in the flower. As they ])ush their way in, the stiff white stamens 

 whifh arch \inder the coverts brush pollen onto the backs of the liees. 

 and when they visit anotiier iris, tlu^ })olU'n is transferred, and pollination 

 is neatlv eftected. 



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