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Iris missouriensis
Also called Western blue flag, Missouri flag, Western Blue Iris, Western Iris, Wild Iris, Wildiris
Rocky Mountain iris is a hardy rhizomatous perennial from western North America, growing 20 to 40 cm tall with blue flowers. It spreads outward from its rhizomes and is widely grown in temperate gardens.
Iris missouriensis (syn. I. montana) is a hardy flowering rhizomatous species of the genus Iris, in the family Iridaceae. Its common names include western blue flag, Rocky Mountain iris, and Missouri flag.
It is native to western North America. Its distribution is varied; it grows at high elevations in mountains and alpine meadows and all the way down to sea level in coastal hills.
The plant is toxic, particularly the rootstalks, which contain the potentially lethal iridin.
Some Native American tribes made cordage from the plant's stems and leaves. Some Plateau Indian tribes used the roots to treat toothache.
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 missouriensis 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.
