443 



IRIDACEAE. 



Stems tall, usually several-flowered, leafy; outer perianth-segments larger than the inner. 

 Flowers blue, variegated with yellow, white or green (rarely all white). 

 None of the perianth-segments crested; native species. 

 Leaves J^'-i' wide. 



Leaves somewhat glaucous. 

 Leaves bright green, not glaucous. 



Outer perianth-segments 3' -4' long; flowers sessile. 

 Outer perianth-segments 2%'-$ long; flowers pedicelled. 

 Leaves much narrower, 2" -4" wide. 

 Capsule obtusely angled, 3-6-lobed 

 Capsule 3-lobed; northern. 

 Capsule 6-lobed; western. 

 Capsule sharply 3-angled. 



Outer perianth-segments strongly crested; introduced. 

 Flowers reddish or red -brown. 

 Flowers bright yellow; introduced species. 



Stems low, seldom over 6' tall, i-3-flowered; outer and inner perianth-segments nearly equal. 

 Outer perianth-segments crested; leaves lanceolate. 



Perianth-tube very slender, exceeding the bracts. 10. /. cristata. 



Perianth-tube expanded above, not exceeding the bracts. 11. /. lacustris. 



Outer perianth-segments crested, claws slightly pubescent; leaves linear. 12. I.verna. 



i. /. versicolor. 



2. /. hexagona, 



3. /. Caroliniana 



4. /. Hookeri. 



5. /. Missouri e, 



6. I. prismatica. 



7. /. Germanica. 



8. I.fulva. 



9. I. Pseudacorus 



i. Iris versicolor L,. Larger Blue Flag. (Fig. 1069.) 



Iris versicolor L. Sp. PI. 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 glaucous, 6 // -i2 // wide; bracts com- 

 monly 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 spatu- 

 late, 2 / -3 / long, longer and wider than the inner; 

 perianth-tube dilated upward, shorter than the 

 ovary; capsule oblong, obscurely 3-lobed, about 

 iy 2 ' long and 8" in diameter; seeds 2 // -3 // broad, 

 in 2 rows in each cell. 



In marshes, thickets, and wet meadows, Newfound- 

 land to Manitoba, south to Florida and Arkansas. 

 May-July. 



2. Iris hexagona Walt. Southern Blue Flag. (Fig. 1070.) 



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



Rootstock stout, thick. Stems terete, usually 

 simple, straight or flexuous, leafy, i-3 tall; leaves 

 Y^'-'iYz' wide, green, not glaucous, the lower often 

 2-3 long; flowers solitary in the upper axils, ses- 

 sile, similar to those of /. 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 upward; capsule oblong cylin- 

 dric, 6-angled, about 2' long; seeds in 2 rows in 

 each cavity. 



In swamps, South Carolina and Florida to Kentucky, 

 Missouri and Texas. April-May. 



