Genus i. 



IRIS FAMILY. 



539 



7. Iris prismatica Pursh. Narrow Blue-flag. Poison Flag-root. 



Iris virginica Muhl. Cat. 4. 1813. Not L. 1753. 

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

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

 flris Carolina Radius, Schrift. Naturf. Ges. Leipzig I : 

 158. 1822. 



Rootstock rather slender, tuberous-thickened. 

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

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

 like, ii"-2j" wide, mostly shorter than the stem; 

 flowers solitary or 2 together, blue veined with 

 yellow, slender-pedicelled ; pedicels commonly longer 

 than the bracts; outer perianth-segments 1J-2' long, 

 glabrous and crestless, the inner smaller and nar- 

 rower, the tube 2"-^" long above the ovary; capsule 

 narrowly oblong, acute at each end, sharply 3-angled, 

 i'-ii' long, 3"-4" thick; seeds about 1" broad, thick, 

 borne in 1 row in each cavity. 



In wet grounds, Nova Scotia to Pennsylvania and 

 Georgia, mainly near the coast. May-June. 



8. Iris germanica L. Fleur-de-lis. Fig. 1335. 



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 Massachusetts and 

 Virginia. Native of Europe. May-June. 



Iris Duerinckii Buckley, Am. Journ. Sci. 45 : 1 76, de- 

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

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

 central Europe. 



9. Iris fulva Ker. Red-brown Flag. Fig. 1336. 



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 stem, 

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

 bracts; flowers reddish brown, variegated with blue 

 and green; perianth-segments glabrous, crestless, 

 the outer ones iJ'-2' long, the inner smaller, spread- 

 ing; style-branches 2" -3" wide. 



In swamps, southern Illinois to Georgia and Louisiana, 

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



