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Iris hellenica is a rhizomatous perennial iris from Saitas Mountain in the Peloponnese, Greece, with grey-green sickle-shaped leaves and 2 to 3 white, lilac or purple flowers in spring. It is rarely grown outside botanical collections and needs a cool climate to thrive.
Iris hellenica is a plant species in the genus Iris and the subgenus Iris. It is a rhizomatous perennial, from Saitas Mountain, in the Peloponnese Region of Greece. It has grey-green, sickle-shaped leaves, a tall slender stem, 2–3 white, lavender-blue, lilac or purple flowers and orange/purple beards. It was thought once to be a hybrid species of Iris germanica which also grows in the same area, before being separated into 2 species. It has only recently been published and is rarely cultivated as an ornamental plant in temperate regions.
Iris hellenica was first brought into cultivation at the Copenhagen Botanical Garden by Arne Strid in May 1984.
An isotype of the iris, was given to Museum Botanicum Hauniense of the University of Copenhagen in May 2010.
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 skin irritation or an allergic reaction.
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 hellenica 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.
