Iris missouriensis explained

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,^[1] 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.^{[2] [3]}

Description

Iris missouriensis is an erect herbaceous rhizomatous perennial, NaNcm (-2,147,483,648inches) high, with leafless unbranched scapes (flowering stems) and linear basal leaves, 5 to 10 mm wide, similar in height to the scapes. The inflorescence usually consists of one or two flowers, exceptionally three or four. Each flower has three light to dark blue, spreading or reflexed sepals lined with purple and three smaller upright blue petals.^{[4] [5] [6] [7]} They produce a large fruit capsule.^[8]

The plant populations often spread outwards from the older plants, leaving a dead opening in the center of a growing ring.

Uses

Some Native American tribes made cordage from the plant's stems and leaves.^[9] Some Plateau Indian tribes used the roots to treat toothache.^[10] The Navajo used a decoction of the plant as an emetic.^[11] Plains Indians are said to have extracted the toxin irisin from the plant to use as arrow poison. The Zuni apply a poultice of chewed root to increase the strength of newborns and infants.^[12]

This iris is listed as a weed in some areas, particularly in agricultural California. It is bitter and distasteful to livestock and heavy growths of the plant are a nuisance in pasture land. Heavy grazing in an area promotes the growth of this hardy iris.^[6]

The plant is widely cultivated in temperate regions.^[13]

Toxicity

The plant is toxic, particularly the rootstalks, which contain the potentially lethal irisin.

External links

• • • UC Photos gallery — Iris missouriensis

Notes and References

1. [Donald Wyman]
2. Web site: Iris missouriensis . Sullivan . Steven. K. . 2015 . Wildflower Search . 2015-06-16 .
3. Web site: Iris missouriensis . 2015 . PLANTS Database . United States Department of Agriculture; Natural Resources Conservation Service . 2015-06-16.
4. Web site: Iris missouriensis . Klinkenberg . Brian . 2014 . E-Flora BC: Electronic Atlas of the Plants of British Columbia [eflora.bc.ca]. . Lab for Advanced Spatial Analysis, Department of Geography, University of British Columbia, Vancouver . 2015-06-16.
5. Web site: Iris missouriensis . Giblin . David . 2015 . WTU Herbarium Image Collection . Burke Museum, University of Washington . 2015-06-16.
6. Web site: Iris missouriensis . 2015 . Jepson eFlora: Taxon page . Jepson Herbarium; University of California, Berkeley . 2015-06-16.
7. Web site: Blue Flag Irises - Iris missouriensis . 2012-07-22 . 2012-07-02 . https://web.archive.org/web/20120702121513/http://www.fs.fed.us/wildflowers/beauty/iris/blueflag/iris_missouriensis.shtml . dead .
8. Book: Taylor, Ronald J.. Sagebrush Country: A Wildflower Sanctuary. Mountain Press Pub. Co. 1994. 0-87842-280-3. rev.. Missoula, MT. 72. en. 25708726. 1992.
9. Book: Fagan, Damian. Wildflowers of Oregon: A Field Guide to Over 400 Wildflowers, Trees, and Shrubs of the Coast, Cascades, and High Desert. FalconGuides. 2019. 978-1-4930-3633-2. Guilford, CT. 171. 1073035766.
10. Book: Hunn, Eugene S. . Nch'i-Wana, "The Big River": Mid-Columbia Indians and Their Land . . 1990 . 0-295-97119-3. 354.
11. Goldblatt, Peter (1980). Uneven Diploid Chromosome Numbers and Complex Heterozygosity in Homeria (Iridaceae). Systematic Botany, Vol. 5, No. 4, pp. 337–340
12. Camazine, Scott; Bye, Robert A. (1980). "A Study of the Medical Ethnobotany of the Zuni Indians of New Mexico", Journal of Ethnopharmacology 2: 365–388 (p. 373)
13. Web site: RHS Plant Selector - Iris missouriensis. https://archive.today/20121224054713/http://apps.rhs.org.uk/plantselector/plant?plantid=3216. dead. December 24, 2012. 24 June 2013.