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).