IRIS FAMILY 
IRIDACEAE 
The members of this interesting family are 
perennial herbs which usually have thickened or 
bulbous roots, with vertical two-ranked leaves and 
showy flowers in which the three stamens face 
outward. While this group includes many of our 
most beautiful cultivated plants there are com- 
paratively few wild flowers belonging to it. Of 
these the Wild Iris or Blue Flag is perhaps the 
most abundant widely distributed species. 
Brug Fiac. Writing of the common Wild 
Iris, or Larger Blue Flag, many years ago, the 
naturalist Thoreau, remarked that it is ‘ loose 
and coarse”’ in habit, and also added that it is 
“too showy and gaudy, like some women’s bon- 
nets.” Fortunately, however, few flower lovers 
will agree with this judgment, for to most of us 
the Blue Flag, as it grows along the borders of 
the running brooks or in the margins of ponds, 
is one of the most delightful of wild flowers. 
It is not so attractive when gathered and used for 
indoor decoration, as are many others, but the 
beauty of such a plant is to be judged by the 
place where Nature puts it. 
The flower of the Blue Flag is of especial inter- 
148 
* 
