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 cristata
Also called Crested iris
Dwarf crested iris is a low, creeping rhizomatous perennial native to the eastern United States, with pale lavender flowers and an orange or yellow crest. It spreads by stolons into ground-cover masses and prefers cool, semi-shaded sites with well-drained, humus-rich soil.
Iris cristata (also known as dwarf crested iris and crested iris) is a species in the genus Iris, and is part of the subgenus of Limniris. It is a rhizomatous perennial plant, endemic to the eastern United States. It has pale lavender flowers with a white patch and orange or yellow crest. It is a close relative to Iris lacustris (Dwarf lake iris), the only other crested iris native to North America. It is cultivated as an ornamental plant in temperate regions.
It is hardy to between USDA Zone 3 and Zone 9, and is hardy to European Zone H2, meaning it is hardy down to −20 °C.
It prefers to grow in well-drained soils that are neutral or slightly acidic (pH level of 6.1 to 6.5). It also prefers medium to high fertile soils containing humus, although it will tolerate loamy soils.
Like many other irises, most parts of the plant are poisonous (rhizome and leaves), and if mistakenly ingested can cause stomach pains and vomiting. Handling the plant may cause a skin irritation or an allergic reaction, and there is also a risk of dermatitis.
It is native to temperate regions of United States of America.
It has been listed as a medicinal plant.
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 cristata 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.
