Yellow Flag Iris

Iridaceae

LIFE FORM: Perennial

NATIVITY: Europe

VEGETATIVE CHARACTERISTICS:

Can grow to about 3 feet tall; slender, long leaves up to 3 feet long and dark green until frost.

FLOWERS:

Showy, bright yellow flowers in June.

FRUIT/DISPERSAL AGENTS:

Spreads by seed and rhizomes.

ECOLOGICAL PREFERENCE:

Freshwater wetlands, ponds and streams.

ENVIRONMENTAL FUNCTION:

Stream and river bank stabilization.

CULTURAL SIGNIFICANCE:

This species is common around the edges of shallow ponds and streams. Included by Greek physician Pedanius Dioscorides in his five volume herbal, De Materia Medica, which was written in the first century AD and remained in active use into the 1600s. Introduced as an ornamental species. Invasive species in minimally managed habitats.