156 
IOWA ACADEMY OF SCIENCES 
Fitzpatrick, T. J. and M. F. L. I’roceedings of the Iowa Academy of Sciences, 
1897, Vol. 5, p. 165, 1898; Vol. 6, 1898, p. 198, 1899. 
Barnes, W. D. ; Keppert, Fred ; and Miller, A. A. Froceedings of the Daven- 
port Academy of Sciences, Vol. 8, p. 260, 1900. 
Mueller, H. A. Brcoeedings of the Iowa Academy of Sciences, 1903, Vol. 
11, p. 278, 1904. 
Peek, Morton E. Proceedings of the Iowa Academy of Sciences, 1904, Vol. 
12, p. 204, 1905. 
8. IRIDACEAE Lindl. Nat. Syst. Ed. 2, 382. 183G. 
Iris Family. 
Perennial herbs, with narrow eguitant leaves, and perfect regular or 
irregular, more or less clustered, bracteate flowers. Perianth 6-lobed pr 
6-parted, the tube adnate to the ovary. Stamens 3, inserted on the peri- 
anth opposite the outer lobes; filaments slender, separate or united; 
anthers 2-celled, extrorse. Ovary inferior, usually 3-celled; ovules many; 
style 3-cleft. Capsule 3-celled, 3-angled or 3-lobed, manj^-seeded, loculicid- 
ally dehiscent. 
Style-branches opposite the anthers, broad, petaliferous. 1. Iris. 
Style-branches alternate with the anthers, slender or liliform. 
Filaments all distinct ; seeds fleshy. 2. Gemmingia. 
Filaments united ; seeds dry. 8. Sisyrinchiiim. 
1. IRIS L. Sp. PI. 38. 1753. 
Herbs, with horizontal or creeping rootstocks, erect stems, erect or 
ascending leaves, and large regular terminal flowers. Perianth-segments 
6, clawed, united into a tube below. Stamens inserted at the base of the 
outer perianth-segments; anthers oblong or linear. Ovary 3-celled; style 
3-divided, the division petal like and arching over the stamens, the stig- 
matic surfaces being under the two lobed tips. Capsule oblong or oval, 
3 — 6-angled or lobed. Seeds many, vertically compressed in one or two 
rows in each cell. 
1. Iris versicolor L. Sp. PL 39. 1753. Larger Blue Flag. 
Rootstock horizontal, thick; roots fibrous; stems nearly or quite ter- 
ete, 2 — 3 feet high, straight or flexuous; leaves erect, usually shorter 
than the stem, more or less glaucous, 1 — 2 feet long, 6 — 12 lines wide; 
bracts usually longer than the pedicels, the lower one frequently leaf- 
like; flowers one to several, violet-blue, variegated with yellow, green, 
and white; perianth-segments glabrous, crestless, the outer ones spatu- 
late, 2 — 3 inches long, the inner ones shorter and narrower; perianth- 
tube 4 — 6 lines long, dilated upwards; ovary 10 — 18 lines long; capsule 
1 — 2 inches long, 8 lines in diameter, faintly 3-lobed; seeds in two rows 
in each cell, 2 — 3 lines across. 
This species ranges from Newfoundland to Manitoba, south to Flor- 
ida, Alabama, Louisiana and Arkansas. It blooms from May until July 
and its habitat is low wet grassy places and in marshes and shallow 
lakes. In Iowa the species is common and generally distributed. Type 
locality: "‘HaUtat in Virginia, Marilandia, Pensylvia.” 
