450 IRIDACEAE. 



6. Iris prismatica Pursh. Slender Blue Flag. (Fig. 1074.) 



Iris I'irginica Muhl. Cat. 4. 1813. Not L. 1753. 

 Iris prismatica Pursh, Fl. Am. Sept. 30. 1814. 

 Iris gracilis Bigel. Fl. Bost. 12. 1814. 



Rootstock rather slender, tuberous-thickened. 

 Stems slender, often flexuous, i-3 tall, usually 

 simple, bearing 2 or 3 leaves; leaves almost grass- 

 like, i^ // -2^ // wide, mostly shorter than the 

 stem; flowers solitary or 2 together, blue veined 

 with yellow, slender-pedicelled; pedicels com- 

 monly longer than the bracts; outer perianth-seg- 

 ments i^ / -2 / long, glabrous and crestless, the in- 

 ner smaller and narrower, the tube 2 // -3 // long 

 above the ovary; capsule narrowly oblong, acute at 

 each end, sharply 3-angled, I'-i^' long, 3" -4" 

 thick; seeds about \" broad, thick, borne in i row 

 in each cavity. 



In wet grounds, New Brunswick to Pennsylvania and 

 North Carolina, mainly near the coast. May-June. 



^^ 



7. Iris Germanica L,. Fleur-de-lis. 

 (Fig. 1075.) 



Iris Germanica L. Sp. PI. 38. 1753. 



Rootstock thick. Stems stout, usually branched 

 and several-flowered, 2-3 tall, bearing several 

 leaves. Leaves glaucous, 8 // -2 / wide, the basal ones 

 mostly shorter than the stem; bracts scarious; flowers 

 nearly sessile in the bracts, large and very showy, 

 deep violet-blue veined with yellow and brown or 

 sometimes white; outer perianth-segments broadly 

 obovate, 3'-4' long, their claws strongly crested; inner 

 perianth-segments narrower, arching. 



Escaped from gardens to roadsides in Virginia, 

 of Europe. May-June. 



Native 



Iris Duerinckii Buckley, Am. Journ. Sci. 45: 176, de- 

 scribed from specimens collected at St. Louis, Mo., but 

 doubtless cultivated, appears to be /. aphylla L-, a native 

 of central Europe. 



8. Iris fulva Ker. Red-brown Flag. 

 (Fig. 1076.) 



Iris fulva Ker, Bot. Mag. pi. 1496. 1812. 

 Iris cuprea Pursh, Fl. Am. Sept. 30. 1814. 



Rootstock stout, fleshy. Stems rather slender, 

 2-3 tall, simple or branched, several-flowered and 

 bearing 2-4 leaves; leaves pale green and some- 

 what glaucous, shorter than or equalling the stein, 

 3"-8" wide; pedicels >'-i' long, shorter than the 

 bracts; flowers reddish brown, variegated with 

 blue and green; perianth-segments glabrous, crest- 

 less, the outer ones i^ / -2 / long, the inner smaller, 

 spreading; style-branches 2 // -3 // wide. 



In swamps, southern Illinois to Georgia and Louisi- 

 ana, west to Missouri, Arkansas and Texas. May-June. 



