Iris virginica
Common Name(s): Blue flag
Native to Florida
Blue flag is an emersed plant. These elegant natives are medium size plants, growing to four feet tall. They grow from stout underground rhizomes, and occassionally occur in swamps and marshes from the northern and central peninsula west to the central panhandle. There are seven Iris species that occur in Florida (Wunderlin,2003). Blue flag is prevalent throughout the eastern half of the U.S. and Canada (Kartesz, 1999).
Blue flag’s large flowers make it almost unmistakable. They are pale blue to purple flowers and are the only large irises growing wild in Florida. Their leaves are narrow and swordlike, and up to 2 1/2 feet long. The leaves are pointed and flattened. They arise fan-like from a single base.
Video Transcript
Blue flag – Iris virginica
The blue flags are elegant natives of Florida. They are medium-sized plants, but can grow to 4 feet tall. Blue flags grow from stout, underground rhizomes that connect the plants in a column. They occur in a variety of wetlands of central, north, and west Florida; and they flower in the spring. Blue flag’s large blue flowers make it almost unmistakable. Its pale blue to purple flowers are the only large irises growing wild in Florida. Blue flags can also be distinguished by their leaves. Their leaves are narrow and sword-like; and up to 2-1/2 feet long. The leaves are pointed and flattened. They rise fanlike from a single base. The handsome blue flag is a native. It has large, blue to purple iris flowers. Its leaves are sword-like and can grow up to 2-1/2 feet long.