IRISES

Iris means "rainbow" in Greek. Garden irises come in a broad spectrum of colours, but cut flower irises are mostly blue, white and yellow like the summer sky. The Iris is the ‘Fleur de Lys’ emblem of France. A plant of the Iridaceae family of perennial herbs, which includes the crocuses, freesias, and gladioli, it has sword-shaped leaves and beautiful blue flowers. The iris family is closely related to the lily and amaryllis families, differing from them in having three stamens rather than six.

The popularity of irises over the centuries has been demonstrated in the still life paintings of the Dutch masters, and more recently has inspired Vincent van Gogh.

The many species of wild iris are most common in temperate and sub arctic regions of North America, where they are often called flags, or blue flags. Among the many varieties, there is the Siberian Iris, the Grass-leaved flag, the slender-Blue Flag Iris and the wild Iris.

Many of the Flag Irises have a considerable reputation for their medicinal virtues. In all the species belonging to this genus, the roots are believed to possess of cathartic and emetic properties.

Irises are classified in the division Magnoliophyta, class Liliopsida, and order Liliales, family Iridaceae.