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Iris qinghainica
Qinghai Iris is a small, beardless, rhizomatous perennial iris from high-altitude grasslands in Qinghai and Gansu, China, with blue or violet flowers. It is rarely grown and needs cold, dry winter protection and very little water outside the growing season.
Iris qinghainica is a beardless iris in the genus Iris, in the subgenus Limniris and in the series Tenuifoliae of the genus. It is a rhizomatous herbaceous perennial, from China. It has grey green leaves, a very short stem and 1–2 blue or violet flowers.
Iris qinghainica is not common in cultivation in the UK. It needs the protection of bulb frames during the winter, protecting it from the winter wet. It only needs water during the growing season.
Iris qinghainica is endemic to China, in the Chinese provinces of Gansu and Qinghai.
In Chinese Materia Medica, it is noted that the seeds of Iris qinghainica are used as a traditional Chinese herbal medicine. The seeds are harvested between July and August. The husk is removed with any other impurities and then dried. The seeds taste bitter or slightly sweet. They are taken as an oral dose. 3–9 g of powder or a decoction. It is used to treat roundworm (as an anthelmintic), pinworm (or threadworm), appendicitis and food poisoning.
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 qinghainica 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.
