''Iris virginica'', with the common name Virginia blueflag, Virginia iris, great blue flag, or southern blue flag, is a

perennial In horticulture, the term perennial ('' per-'' + '' -ennial'', "through the year") is used to differentiate a plant from shorter-lived annuals and biennials. It has thus been defined as a plant that lives more than 2 years. The term is also ...

species A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...

flowering plant Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (). The term angiosperm is derived from the Ancient Greek, Greek words (; 'container, vessel') and (; 'seed'), meaning that the seeds are enclosed with ...

in the

Iridaceae Iridaceae () is a family of plants in order Asparagales, taking its name from the Iris (plant), irises. It has a nearly global distribution, with 69 accepted genera with a total of about 2500 species. It includes a number of economically importan ...

(iris) family, native to central and eastern North America. It was identified as a separate species by

Edgar Anderson Edgar Shannon Anderson (November 9, 1897 – June 18, 1969) was an American botanist. He introduced the term '' introgressive hybridization'' and his 1949 book of that title was an original and important contribution to botanical genetics. His w ...

, and is one of the three ''Iris'' species in Anderson's ''Iris'' flower data set, used by

Ronald Fisher Sir Ronald Aylmer Fisher (17 February 1890 – 29 July 1962) was a British polymath who was active as a mathematician, statistician, biologist, geneticist, and academic. For his work in statistics, he has been described as "a genius who a ...

in his 1936 paper "The use of multiple measurements in taxonomic problems" as an example of

linear discriminant analysis Linear discriminant analysis (LDA), normal discriminant analysis (NDA), canonical variates analysis (CVA), or discriminant function analysis is a generalization of Fisher's linear discriminant, a method used in statistics and other fields, to fi ...

Description

''Iris virginica'' is a perennial plant that grows up to tall. The plant's sword-shaped basal leaves are erect or sometimes arching and measure up to long and across at the base. The leaves have smooth margins and are bluish green to green and

glabrous Glabrousness () is the technical term for a lack of hair, down, setae, trichomes, or other such covering. A glabrous surface may be a natural characteristic of all or part of a plant or animal, or be due to loss because of a physical condition, ...

. Unbranched or sparingly branched flowering stalks rise from the basal leaves to a height of up to . Small, alternate leaves are located on the stalks, with 1 to 2 flowers emerging from the axil of each of these leaves on

pedicels In botany, a pedicel is a stem that attaches a single flower to the inflorescence In botany, an inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a plant's Plant stem, stem that is composed of a main branch or a system of branch ...

that are long. The flowers, which bloom May to July, are blue to blue-violet and are a typical iris shape. Each flower has 3 drooping

sepals A sepal () is a part of the flower of angiosperms (flowering plants). Usually green, sepals typically function as protection for the flower in bud, and often as support for the petals when in bloom., p. 106 Etymology The term ''sepalum'' ...

, called "falls", that have white marks and yellow near the throat, and 3 upright

petals Petals are modified leaves that form an inner whorl surrounding the reproductive parts of flowers. They are often brightly coloured or unusually shaped to attract pollinators. All of the petals of a flower are collectively known as the ''coroll ...

, called "standards". Flowers measure across.

Distribution and habitat

''Iris virginica'' is native in the United States from Nebraska to the west, Florida and Texas to the south, New York to the east, and the Canadian border to the north. In Canada, it is native in Ontario and Quebec. It grows in wet areas, sometimes in shallow water, including marshes,

wet meadow A wet meadow is a type of wetland with soils that are Solubility, saturated for part or all of the growing season which prevents the growth of trees and brush. Debate exists whether a wet meadow is a type of marsh or a completely separate type of ...

s, swamps, river bottoms, sloughs, ditches, bottomland prairies, edges of sinkhole ponds, and in shallow water.

Uses

The

Cherokee The Cherokee (; , or ) people are one of the Indigenous peoples of the Southeastern Woodlands of the United States. Prior to the 18th century, they were concentrated in their homelands, in towns along river valleys of what is now southwestern ...

use this

medicinal plant Medicinal plants, also called medicinal herbs, have been discovered and used in traditional medicine practices since prehistoric times. Plants synthesize hundreds of chemical compounds for various functions, including Plant defense against h ...

for traditional medicinal uses. The root is pounded into a paste that is used as a

salve A salve is a medical ointment used to soothe the skin. Medical uses Magnesium sulphate paste is used as a drawing salve to treat small boils and infected wounds and to remove 'draw' small splinters. Black ointment, or Ichthyol Salve, also ca ...

for the skin. An

infusion Infusion is the process of extracting chemical compounds or flavors from plant material in a solvent such as water, oil or alcohol, by allowing the material to remain suspended in the solvent over time (a process often called steeping). An inf ...

made from the root is used to treat ailments of the

liver The liver is a major metabolic organ (anatomy), organ exclusively found in vertebrates, which performs many essential biological Function (biology), functions such as detoxification of the organism, and the Protein biosynthesis, synthesis of var ...

, and a decoction of the root is used to treat "yellowish urine". It may be one of the Iris species used by the

Seminole The Seminole are a Native American people who developed in Florida in the 18th century. Today, they live in Oklahoma and Florida, and comprise three federally recognized tribes: the Seminole Nation of Oklahoma, the Seminole Tribe of Florida, ...

to treat "shock following alligator-bite". ''Iris virginica'' is one of three iris species in Ronald Fisher's ''Iris'' flower data set.

References

External links

Kemper Center for Home Gardening.org: ''Iris virginica'' (Virginia iris)
{{Taxonbar, from=Q7934335 virginica Flora of the Southeastern United States Flora of the Northeastern United States Garden plants of North America Plants used in traditional Native American medicine Plants described in 1753 Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus Flora of the North-Central United States Flora of the South-Central United States Flora of Eastern Canada