Iris Family:-

Irises are "stout hairless perennials, with narrow, sword-shaped, flat leaves. The conspicuous flowers have 3 spreading outer petals (falls), 3 more or less erect and twisted inner ones (standards), all with narrow basal portions, and 3 large and rather petal-like stigmas. In many garden Irises the falls are bearded, but our wild species are beardless. The branched tips of the styles are the crests. " from Collins Pocket Guide to Wild Flowers by David McClintock and R.S.R. Fitter assisted by Francis Rose - ISBN 0 00 219363 9 - Eleventh Impression 1978

Iris Family plant table with its Common Name - Botanical Name. Flowering Months Range. Habitat with link to that Wild Flower Habitat Gallery:-

Common Name

Botanical Name

Flowering Months

Habitat

Autumn Crocus

Crocus nudiflorus

September-October

A cormous perennial herb found naturalised in meadows, pastures, amenity grasslands and on roadsides. It spreads vegetatively by means of rhizomes. Lowland.

Flower

Flowers

Foliage

Form

Blue-eyed Grass

Sisyrinchium angustifolium

(Sisyrinchium bermudiana)

July

A perennial herb of wet meadows, ditches and lake-shores. Lowland.

Flower

Flowers

Flowers

Form

Butterfly Iris

(Blue Iris)

Iris spuria

June-July

A rhizomatous perennial herb which is grown in gardens and is naturalised in grassy places, by ditches, on banks and on roadside verges. It also occurs as a relic of cultivation. Lowland.

Flower

Flowers

Foliage

Form

Gladiolus

(Wild Gladiolus)

Gladiolus illyricus

July

A cormous perennial of acidic, brown-earth soils, found on grass-heaths, usually in association with Pteridium which may afford the plant some protection from grazing. It reproduces primarily by offsets, as flowering and seed production appear to be limited. Lowland.

Flower on 27 June

Flowers on 27 June

Foliage

Form

Monbretia

Crocosmia x crocosmiiflora

(Crocosmia aurea x pottsii)

July-August

A cormous perennial herb spreading vegetatively by means of rhizomes to form dense clumps in woods and hedge banks, by roadsides and on waste ground. Although some viable seed is produced, most wild populations have probably arisen from discarded garden plants and subsequent vegetative spread. Generally lowland, but reaching 340 m N. of Carter Bar (Roxburghs.).

Flower

Flowers

Foliage from Lake Caragh on 24 June

Form from Lake Caragh in Kerry on 24 June

Purple Water Flag

Iris versicolor

June-July

A rhizomatous perennial herb which is naturalised in reed swamps and by lakes, ponds and streams. It arises from deliberate planting, or as a garden escape or throw-out. Lowland.

Flower

Flowers

Foliage

Form

Roast-Beef Plant

(Stinking Iris)

Iris foetidissima

June

A perennial herb, highly tolerant of drought and shade, found in hedge banks and woods, and on sheltered scrubby sea-cliffs, mostly on calcareous substrates. Reproduction is by seed and by rhizomatous extension. Lowland.

Flower from Bluebell Hill in Kent

Flower

Seed

Form

Form from Isle of Wight. Photo by BritishFlora

Seeds from Isle of Wight. Photo by BritishFlora

Sand Crocus

Romulea columnae

(Romulea bulbocodium)

April

A cormous perennial herb of short, open turf on freely-draining sandy ground and cliff-slopes near the sea. Reproduction is mostly by seed, with division of the corm apparently much less significant. Lowland.

Flower

Flower from Rochester in Kent on 8 May

Foliage

Form

Spring Crocus

Crocus purpureus

(Crocus vernus)

March

A cormous perennial herb, well-naturalised in a wide variety of grassy habitats, especially in churchyards and amenity grasslands, and on roadside verges. Lowland.

Flower from Liechenstein on 15 May

Flowers

Foliage

Form

Yellow-Eyed Grass

Sisyrinchium californicum

June-July

A short-lived, semi-evergreen perennial herb grown in gardens and naturalised on lake shores, in marshy meadows, and in other damp, grassy places. It reproduces by seed and some populations are very large. Lowland.

Flower

Flowers

Foliage

Form

Yellow Flag

(Yellow Iris)

Iris pseudacorus

June-August

A rhizomatous perennial herb of wet meadows, wet woods, fens, the margins of lakes, ponds and watercourses, wet dune-slacks, and, in N. and W. Britain, also of coastal streams, shingle, upper saltmarshes and raised beaches. It reproduces by seed and by vegetative spread. Plants have occasionally been planted in the wild or have escaped from cultivation. Generally lowland, but reaching 480 m at Nenthead (Cumberland).

Flower July

Flowers from Chiddingstone Park in June

Foliage from garden pond in June

Form

Flower from Hampshire. Photo by BritishFlora

Form on the coast in the Isle of Wight. Photo by BritishFlora

Form in Hampshire. Photo by BritishFlora

Fruits from Berkshire. Photo by BritishFlora

Flowers from Hampshire. Photo by BritishFlora

Form. Photo by BritishFlora