Iris verna

Iris verna
Iris verna in cultivation
Scientific classification
Kingdom:Plantae
Clade:Angiosperms
Clade:Monocots
Order:Asparagales
Family:Iridaceae
Tribe:Irideae
Genus:Iris
Species: I. verna
Binomial name
Iris verna

Iris verna, commonly called dwarf violet iris,[1] is a species of herbaceous plant in the iris family (Iridaceae). It is native to the United States, where it is found primarily in the Southeast. It ranges from Maryland, down the eastern coast of the United States to Florida and west to Mississippi, and inland to Kentucky, Tennessee, and Ohio.[2][3] Its natural habitat is in nutrient-poor acidic soils, in open to semi-shaded woodlands.[4]

Description

Iris verna is a small herbaceous perennial. It forms colonies through its deeply-buried underground rhizomes. It blooms in spring and generally has light to deep blue or violet inflorescens, although rare white forms are known. The sepals have a golden yellow signal.[5]

It can be distinguished from the similar-looking Iris cristata which occurs over much of its range by a number of characters. Iris verna lacks the crested ridges that are found on the sepals of Iris cristata, and its flowers are strongly fragrant (Iris cristata is not strongly fragrant). In addition, the leaves of Iris verna are narrower and straighter than those of Iris cristata, and it has rhizomes that are deeply buried (as opposed to the shallow rhizomes of Iris cristata).[6]

Taxonomy

Two varieties are recognized.[4][7] They are:

  • Iris verna var. smalliana – More widespread, although most common in mountainous areas; strongly clump forming, and with wider leaves.
  • Iris verna var. verna – Native primarily to the Coastal Plain and extending into the Piedmont; with longer rhizomes and thus very loosely clump forming, and with narrower leaves.[6]

References

  1. ↑ "Iris verna". Natural Resources Conservation Service PLANTS Database. USDA. Retrieved 7 February 2018.
  2. ↑ "Iris verna". County-level distribution map from the North American Plant Atlas (NAPA). Biota of North America Program (BONAP). 2014. Retrieved 7 February 2018.
  3. ↑ Tom S. Cooperrider, Allison Cusick, John T. Kartesz (Editors) Catalogue of the Vascular Plants of Ohio&pg=PA92 agWRx_4tfLoC , p. 92, at Google Books
  4. 1 2 Iris verna Flora of North America
  5. ↑ "Iris verna var. verna: Coastal Plain Dwarf Violet Iris". US Forest service. Retrieved 2013-09-12.
  6. 1 2 Alan Weakley (2015). "Flora of the Southern and Mid-Atlantic States".
  7. ↑ "Iris verna". The University of Texas at Austin. Retrieved 2013-09-12.


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