Iris pseudacorus on 4-15-12, #86-47.
Yellow Flag, Yellow Flag Iris, Water Flag
Iris pseudacorus
EYE-ris soo-DA-ko-rus
Synonyms of Iris pseudacorus (38) (Last updated on 12-19-23 from Plants of the World Online): Acorus adulterinus Ludw. (1755-1757), Iris acoriformis Boreau (1857), Iris acoroides Spach (1846), Iris bastardii Boreau (1857), Iris curtopetala Redouté (1811), Iris flava Tornab. (1887), Iris lutea Ludw. (1755-1757), Iris pallidior Hill (1756), Iris paludosa Pers. (1805), Iris palustris Gaterau (1789)(nom. superfl.), Iris palustris Moench (1794)(nom. illeg.), Iris palustris var. pallida Gray (1821 publ. 1822), Iris pseudacorus var. acoriformis (Boreau) Baker (1877), Iris pseudacorus subsp. acoriformis (Boreau) K.Richt. (1890), Iris pseudacorus var. acoriformis (Boreau) Nyman (1882), Iris pseudacorus var. acoroides (Spach) Baker (1892), Iris pseudacorus f. albescens Neuman (1901), Iris pseudacorus subvar. aurantiaca Druce (1917), Iris pseudacorus var. bastardii (Boreau) Nyman (1882), Iris pseudacorus subsp. bastardii (Boreau) K.Richt. (1890), Iris pseudacorus var. citrina Hook. (1830), Iris pseudacorus f. longiacuminata Prodán (1935), Iris pseudacorus var. longifolia DC. (1805), Iris pseudacorus f. nyaradyana Prodán (1966), Iris pseudacorus var. ochroleuca Peterm. (1844), Iris pseudacorus var. parviflora Bastard (1812), Iris pseudacorus var. parviflorum Bastard (1812), Iris pseudacorus f. submersa Glück (1911), Iris sativa Mill. (1768), Limnirion pseudacorus (L.) Opiz (1852), Limniris pseudacorus (L.) Fuss (1866), Moraea candolleana Spreng. (1824), Pseudo-iris palustris Medik. (1790)(nom. superfl.), Vieusseuxia iridioides Redouté (1811)(pro syn.), Xiphion acoroides (Spach) Alef. (1863),Xiphion pseudacorus (L.) Schrank (1811), Xyridion acoroideum (Spach) Klatt (1872), Xyridion pseudacorus (L.) Klatt (1872)
Iris pseudacorus L. is the accepted scientific name of this species of Iris. It was named and described as such by Carl von Linnaeus in the first volume of the first edition of Species Plantarum in 1753.
The genus, Iris Tourn ex L, was described as such by Carl von Linnaeus in the first volume of the first edition of Species Plantarum in 1753. Mr. Linnaeus gave credit to Joseph Pitton de Tournefort for first naming and describing the genus.
As of 12-19-23 when this page was last updated, Plants of the World Online lists 311 species in the Iris genus. It is a member of the plant family Iridaceae with 69 genera. Those numbers could change as updates are made on POWO.
There was a good-sized bed of these AWESOME Iris along the driveway at the mansion in Mississippi. Several years ago when I was doing plant research for the blog, I could have sworn that I found this species on the Louisiana Iris Society website and that it was a species of Louisiana Iris. In fact, the above photo was named Iris louisiana and my only source of information was online. Apparently, I was mistaken, because Iris pseudacorus IS NOT a species of Louisiana Iris.
There are five species considered to be Louisiana Iris, including Iris fulva, Iris hexagona, Iris brevicaulis, Iris giganticaerulea, and Iris x nelsonii (or I. nelsonii). Some sites may also list Iris savannarum but that species isn’t a Louisiana native although it may be found there in the wild. There are also several naturally occurring hybrids such as Iris x violipurpurea. All natives of the southern USA. Iris pseudacorus is native to parts of Europe, western Asia, western Siberia, Turkey, Iran, and northern Africa.
THERE ARE A FEW LINKS AT THE BOTTOM OF THE PAGE FOR FURTHER READING.
Iris pseudacorus on 6-14-09, #19-07.
One year they grew to over 6 feet tall. I took a photo, which I can’t seem to find, of a friend standing in front of them. He is 6’3 and the Iris were taller than him. During my first summer at the mansion, 2009, they flowered pretty well but after that, no. I decided that maybe the bed needed to be redone so I removed all the rhizomes, spaced them out better, and planted them to the proper depth. There had been several bare spots, too. They didn’t seem to mind but they did NOT flower the next year… Then I moved back to the family farm in mid-Missouri in February 2013. I should have brought some with me…
USEFUL INFORMATION:
Family: Iridaceae.
ORIGIN: Europe to western Siberia, Caucasus, Turkey, Iran, northern Africa.
ZONES: USDA 5-9.
HEIGHT: 3-5’ plus.
BLOOM TIME: May-June.
LIGHT: Full sun to part shade.
WATER: Medium to wet. Plants can stand in water up to 12” deep.
PROPAGATION: Plants easily spread by rhizomes and self-seeding.
According to information I found online, these plants love water and can grow in water up to a foot deep! Even though they don’t like to dry out, I am positive proof that they are also very drought tolerant. They went through many years of no additional water at the mansion except what was provided by mother nature.
The rhizomes of Iris pseudacorus have been used as an herbal remedy and in water treatment for its ability to take up heavy metals.
I hope you enjoyed this page and maybe found it useful. If you have any comments, questions or suggestions, I would like to hear from you. Please click on “like” if you visited this page. It helps us bloggers stay motivated. 🙂 You can check out the links below for further reading. The links take you directly to the genus and species of this plant. If you notice I made an error, please let me know.
The Belmont Rooster 