Douglas Iris

Taxobox
name = Douglas Iris

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image_width = 250px
image_caption = Douglas Iris, Point Reyes National Seashore
regnum = Plantae
divisio = Magnoliophyta
classis = Liliopsida
ordo = Asparagales
familia = Iridaceae
subfamilia = Iridoideae
tribus = Irideae
genus = "Iris"
species = "I. douglasiana"
binomial = "Iris douglasiana"
binomial_authority = Herb.The Douglas Iris, "Iris douglasiana", is a common and attractive wildflower of the coastal regions of Northern and Central California and southern Oregon. The names "Iris beecheyana" and "I. watsoniana" have also been used for this plant, but "Iris douglasiana" has precedence.

The Douglas Iris grows mainly at lower elevations, below convert|100|m|ft, though it is occasionally found at heights of up to convert|1000|m|ft. It is most common in grasslands near the coast; it is regarded as a noxious weed in pastures, because it forms clumps that inhibit other vegetation, and its leaves are bitter and unpalatable to cattle.

This is a typical beardless Iris of subgenus "Limniris", series "Californicae", growing from a rhizome that is typically under a centimetre in diameter. Its leaves are about convert|2|cm|in|sigfig=0 wide. It flowers from April to June. Flowers are usually a purplish-blue, though occasionally white or yellow flowers are found. Two or three flowers are found on each stem, which is of variable height, ranging from convert|15|-|80|cm|in tall.

Several varieties have been recognised, for example "Iris douglasiana" var. "altissima" (Jeps.) and "Iris douglasiana" var. "oregonensis" (R. C. Foster), but the species is highly variable and the varieties may not be well enough defined to be of much practical use. The Douglas Iris hybridises freely with several other species; its natural hybrid with "I. innominata" has been designated as "Iris ×thompsonii" (R. C. Foster), and the garden hybrid with the same species as "Iris ×aureonympha" (E. H. English).

External links

* [http://flora.huh.harvard.edu:8080/flora/browse.do?flora_id=1&taxon_id=242101699&key_no=1 Entry in the Flora of North America Online]
* [http://ucjeps.berkeley.edu/cgi-bin/get_JM_treatment.pl?Iris+douglasiana Treatment from the Jepson Manual]
* [http://elib.cs.berkeley.edu/cgi/img_query?where-genre=Plant&rel-cname=like&where-cname=Douglas+Iris Photographs from the CalPhotos archive]