description
Blue flag, an herbaceous perennial of the ridaceae family, resembles a
common garden iris and is often confused with Sweet Flag, which is another
plant in another genus.
Blue flag is a marginal aquatic plant that forms a clump of
narrow, arching-to-erect, sword-shaped, blue-green leaves (to 24" long and
1" wide). Flowering stalks rise from the clump to 30" tall in late spring,
typically producing 3-5 violet-blue flowers per stalk. Flowers have white
and yellow markings at the sepal bases. Clumps spread slowly and naturalize
by tough, creeping rhizomes.
common names & nomenclature
In Greek mythology Iris—Greek for "rainbow"—was the goddess of the rainbow and messenger of
the gods. While versicolor, which means "having many colors" is in allusion to the prismatic colors of the species.
Also known as:
flag-lily, fleur-de-lis, flower-de-luce, iris, liver lily, wild iris, poison flag, flag lily, snake lily, dragon flower, dagger flower, water flag, harlequin blueflag, larger blue flag, northern blue flag