The open plant encyclopedia
Snap a photo or search by any name to see how to care for it, where it comes from, whether it's safe, and a 3D model you can turn.
The plants people record most in your country, and ones that grow there wild.
Filter by what you want to do, shape, origin, country, care and safety.
Iris bismarckiana
Iris bismarckiana, the Nazareth iris, is a small, rhizomatous perennial iris from the mountains of Israel, Jordan, Lebanon and Syria, grown as a rare ornamental. It needs a hot, very dry summer dormancy, which makes it hard to grow in temperate gardens.
Iris bismarckiana, the Nazareth iris, is a species in the genus Iris, it is also in the subgenus Iris and in the section Oncocyclus. It is a rhizomatous perennial, from the mountainsides of Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, and Syria. It has stoloniferous, spreading rhizomes, long, sword shaped, bright green leaves, long slender stem (taller than the leaves) and 1 flower in Spring (between March and April). The large flower is pale yellow, creamy-white, or white background. Which is covered with reddish-brown, maroon brown, purple-brown, purple, blue-purple, or blue veins, markings or spots. It has a dark signal patch and dark purple to black beard. It is rarely cultivated as an ornamental plant in temperate regions (i.e. Europe or America), as it needs very dry conditions during the summer.
It is hardy to European Zone H4, meaning hardy to −5 to −10 °C (or 23 to 14 °F).
It was cultivated in Naples, in 1888, but soon its growth suffered, due to the environmental conditions. It is considered rather difficult to cultivate, due to it needing high temperatures and dryness. It is thought to be best planted in October, by William Rickatson Dykes.
Like many other irises, most parts of the plant are poisonous (rhizome and leaves), if mistakenly ingested can cause stomach pains and vomiting. Also handling the plant may cause a skin irritation or an allergic reaction.
It is normally used as a garden ornamental plant, but they have also been planted in cemeteries, including in Rajib.
Iris acutiloba subsp. lineolata · Iris acutiloba · Iris adriatica · Iris afghanica · Iris alberti · Iris albomarginata · Iris alexeenkoi · Single Bract Iris · Iris antilibanotica · Stool iris · Iris arenaria · Iris assadiana
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Iris bismarckiana by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.
The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.
Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.
