Iris versicolor

A common wetland plant with blue-violet flowers gracing the top of the stem

Iris versicolor northern blueflag

Plant grows in the wild/spontaneouslyPlant is native to PA Add to MyPlants View Locations

A plant of bogs, swamps, wetlands and shallow water of lakes and ponds, blueflag iris forms dense clumps about 2.5 feet tall.  The showy blue-violet flower with erect petals and broad sepals dwells on top of the stem.  Swordlike green-grayish leaves flank the slender stalk.  Most populations are distrubuted in the eastern and western parts of the state with scattered sites in central area.

Blueflag, a.k.a. larger blueflag is cross-fertilized by honeybees, bumblebees and the Syrphid flies that are often mistaken for bees. In return, the iris provides sustenance in the form of nectar for these insects. The iris's pollen-producing stamens are hidden inside the flower at the base of the three "falls," the drooping, bluish sepals with violet veins curving to the yellow runways that lead to the interior. To get inside, the insects crawl under the arching female styles where pollen is dislodged and pollination begins.  Several small, long-tongued butterflies have "learned" to bypass the pollen trap and go directly to the nectar between the divisions, thus depriving the iris of cross-pollination.

If you have an opportunity to plant blueflags in wet areas, they are a beautiful, native alternative to the invasive European yellow iris (Iris pseudacorus).

Frequent in wet meadows, bogs, and marshes.  Prefers full sun to part shade and organic, acidic soil.

Present in eastern and southern parts of the state, some population in central area.

Range: Labrador to Manitoba, south to Virginia, Ohio, Wisconsin, and Minnesota.

Wetland codes
EMP: OBL
NCNE: OBL



Flowers May through July.

Flowers  violet-blue, 3 spreading outer sepals('falls') with yellow, green or white markings, 3 erect petals('standards'); stamens at base of sepals covered by 3 petaloid stigma lobes

Leaves  narrow, sword-shaped, erect, glaucous, ½ to 1″ wide

Stems  flattened

Rhizomes  thick, short, fleshy

Fruit  cylindrical, bluntly 3 angled capsules

Height  2-3 feet

S-rank:  S5 (Secure)
G-rank:  G5 (Secure)

Cross-fertilized by honeybees, bumblebees and the Syrphid flie. Muskrats feed on the root stocks.

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Iris versicolor northern blueflag

Plant grows in the wild/spontaneouslyPlant is native to PA
Add to MyPlants View Locations
Iris versicolor gallery
Plant Life-Form
perennial forb
Common Names
northern blueflag liver lily blueflag iris larger blueflag harlequin blueflag