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Thin Leaf Iris

Iris leptophylla

Iris leptophylla is a rhizomatous perennial iris from China with thin grey-green leaves and fragrant purple to lavender flowers in spring. It needs sharp drainage, full sun and protection from cold in most temperate gardens.

Family
Iridaceae (Iris family)
Grows as
Perennial
Light
Full sun, Part shade
Water
Water moderately during growth and keep the rhizome dry in winter.
Soil
Well-drained mix with grit and humus.
Temperature
10–25 °C; not hardy in the UK, protect from hard frost
How easy
Moderate
Safety
Toxic: Rhizome and leaves are poisonous; ingestion causes stomach pain and vomiting, and handling may irritate the skin.
Native range
C. China
Climate
temperate

About

Iris leptophylla is a plant species in the genus Iris, it is also in the subgenus Iris and in the section Pseudoregelia. It is a rhizomatous perennial, from China. It has thin, long grey-green leaves, long slender stem and 2 fragrant purple, blue-purple, violet or lavender pink flowers. It is cultivated as an ornamental plant in temperate regions.

How to grow it

It prefers to be grown in well-drained soils, (with grit and humus), in full sun. But it can tolerate partial shade.

It is not hardy in the UK, so needs to be grown within an alpine house or bulb frame.

Safety

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.

Uses

The rhizomes of the plant can be used in herbal medicines to be used as a laxative.

Other Iris plants

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 leptophylla 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.

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