Iris verna L.

Dwarf Iris

© DETenaglia

Family - Iridaceae

Stems - No info yet.

Leaves - No info yet.

Inflorescence - No info yet.

Flowers - No info yet.

© DETenaglia

Flowering - April - May.

Habitat - Cultivated, rarely escaped to open grassy areas.

Origin - Native to U.S.

Other info. - This attractive little species is rare in the wilds Missouri and is much more common in states to the southeast. It is fairly common in cultivation. In Missouri, the plant is only known to be growing wild at the Reis Biological Station of St. Louis University. The plants there have spread from an earlier planting.
I. verna is easy to identify becasue of its thin leaves and fairly small blue flowers. The sepals of the flowers have NO beard of long hairs along their midline. The leaves are fairly short at anthesis but expand later in the season.

Photographs taken off Lee Rd 54, Lee County, AL., 3-23-06.