Sisyrinchium angustifolium (Narrow-Leaved Blue-Eyed Grass) on 5-23-20, #703-17.
Iridaceae Juss.
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OR
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The family, Iridaceae Juss., was named and described as such by Antoine Laurent de Jussieu in Genera Plantarum in 1789.
As of 12-19-23 when this page was last updated, Plants of the World Online lists 69 genera in the plant family Iridaceae commonly referred to as the Iris family. It contains many very well-known genera with bulbs, corms, or rhizomes.
I am most familiar with the Bearded Iris as my parents and grandparents had quite a few. When I was a kid, a lady who lived behind us was a serious collector. Over the years I have become acquainted with other species of Iris as well as the Crocosmia (which only lasted one summer). You can click on the plant names under the photos below to take you to their own pages.
For more information about this family of plants, please click on the links below. The links take you directly to the information about the family. There is quite a bit of information online.
PLANTS OF THE WORLD ONLINE
FLORA OF NORTH AMERICA
WIKIPEDIA
BRITANNICA
Crocosmia x Curtonus ‘Lucifer’ on 7-9-18, #477-8.
When I lived in Mississippi, friends of mine had A LOT of Crocosmia in their backyard. I always wanted to try them, and finally, in 2018 I found Crocosmia x Curtonus ‘Lucifer’ at a local greenhouse. They seemed to do fine but didn’t return im 2019… I haven’t seen them locally since…
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Crocus sp. in the yard on 3-3-18, #415-3.
One year these yellow Crocus started coming up in the yard next to where my grandparent’s old house used to be. I lived here from 1981 to 1987 and my parents moved to the farm in 1996. I moved back in 2013 and neither my dad nor I had ever seen them here before…
Crocus sp. on 3-4-20, #674-3.
On March 4 in 2020, I noticed this lilac-colored one had come up. Then on the 11th, there were several a little darker color on the other side of the old foundation… I don’t have a page for the Crocus yet. I was kind of waiting until I figure out the species…
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I planted these beautiful Iris in this location in the early 1980’s when there were no trees in this area. After I moved away from the farm in 1987, dad just mowed them off. I was delighted to see they still survived after so many years of neglect. This photo was taken on 5-7-17, #327-13.
Bearded Iris are great plants and are very long-lived. They require little maintenance which is why you often see them still growing on farms where homes used to be. The link will take you to a page of all the Bearded Iris on the farm…
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Iris fulva (Copper Iris) on 5-14-17, #330-4. A few of the stems produce up to six flowers!
I found the Iris fulva (Copper Iris) in the backyard of the mansion when I lived in Mississippi. I brought a few with me when I moved back to the family farm in west-central Missouri in 2013. Sometimes they do great and sometimes they are a bit “iffy”. I think they need an area where the soil is more damp like along the north side of the house…
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Iris pseudacorus (Yellow Flag Iris) on 4-15-12, #86-47.
There was a HUGE bed of Iris pseudacorus (Yellow Flag Iris) along the driveway when I lived in Mississippi. In the right conditions, they grew very tall and bloomed up a storm. A friend of mine is 6’3″ tall and I have a photo of him standing in front of these Iris. They were taller than him. Unfortunately, I can’t find the photo…
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Iris x violipurpurea ‘Black Gamecock’ on 5-29-17, #337-1.
I bought my Iris x violipurpurea ‘Black Gamecock’ rhizomes from an Ebay seller in 2009. They flowered in 2010 and the flowers were AWESOME! I bought them with me when I moved from the mansion back to the family farm in mid-Missouri in February 2013. They are still alive and well and are spectacular plants!
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Sisyrinchium angustifolium (Narrow-Leaved Blue-Eyed Grass) on 5-23-20, #703-16.
I found several colonies of Sisyrinchium angustifolium (Narrow-Leaved Blue-Eyed Grass) while exploring the secluded woods on a friend’s farm on May 23 in 2020. I identified quite a few wildflowers in his woods and pastures not found on my farm. I found a few colonies on my farm in 2021.
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Sisyrinchium campestre (Prairie Blue-Eyed Grass) on 5-1-22, #877-9.
I found several colonies of Sisyrinchium campestre (Prairie Blue-Eyed Grass) here on the farm in 2022. Well, I may need to take a closer look. I was sure I correctly identified the S. angustifolium here in 2021 and this one in 2022. However, I could have missed something and they could both be the same species.
That’s all I have for the plant family Iridaceae for now. Maybe in the future there will be more…
The Belmont Rooster 