76 IRIS ORDER 
ters on stiff stems with long, grass-like leaves, and bloom from spring 
to midsummer. The plants grow in clumps, 1-5 ft. tall, on prairies and 
foot-hills at 3000-7000 ft. The common name refers to the cobwebby 
hairs on the stamens. The Spider Lily should certainly be cultivated 
in home gardens. | 
IRIS FAMILY 
BLUE-EYED GRASS  SISYRINCHIUM ANGUSTIFOLIUM 
Plate 43, fig. 1 
The Blue-eyed Grass is not a grass at all, but is so called on ac- 
count of the grass-like leaves. The blue-purple, starry blossoms grow 
in loose clusters on stiff stems, and bloom from spring to midsummer. 
They remain open but a few hours in the morning, withering as the 
day advances. The plants are 6-18 in. tall and are found on prairies, 
and foothills and in mountain meadows at 3000-10000 ft. 
Ir1s, BLUE FLAG IRIS MISSOURIENSIS 
Plate 43, fig. 5 
The large, pale blue to purple blossoms of the Iris bloom in spring 
and summer, on brook-banks and in meadows at 3000-10000 ft. The 
plants grow in masses, 1-3 ft. tall, and sometimes carpet the floor of a 
mountain meadow. The botanical name for the Blue Flag is from the 
Greek for “rainbow” and refers to the many colors of the different 
species and varieties. These are cultivated and furnish some of our 
most beautiful garden plants. The earliest illustration of the Iris was 
made about the beginning of the sixth century A.D. in a work by Dios- 
corides. In this work, it was considered valuable as a source of drugs 
rather than as a garden plant, and the number of ailments for which 
iris preparations were prescribed is truly astonishing. At present, 
however, its medicinal value consists merely of an extract from the 
root, which is used as an emetic and cathartic. The seeds of some 
species are sometimes roasted and used in Great Britain as a substitute 


