Iris spuria
| Iris spuria | |
|---|---|
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Monocots |
| Order: | Asparagales |
| Family: | Iridaceae |
| Genus: | Iris |
| Subgenus: | Iris subg. Limniris |
| Section: | Iris sect. Limniris |
| Series: | Iris ser. Spuriae |
| Species: | I. spuria |
| Binomial name | |
| Iris spuria | |
| Synonyms | |
| |
Iris spuria, or blue flag, is a species of the genus Iris, part of the subgenus Limniris and the series Spuriae. It is a rhizomatous perennial plant, from Europe, Asia and Africa. It has purple or lilac flowers, and slender, elongated leaves. It is widely cultivated as an ornamental plant in temperate regions and hybridized for use in the garden. It has several subspecies; Iris spuria subsp. carthaliniae (Achv. & Mirzoeva) B.Mathew, Iris spuria subsp. demetrii (Achv. & Mirzoeva) B.Mathew, Iris spuria subsp. maritima (Dykes) P.Fourn. and Iris spuria subsp. musulmanica (Fomin) Takht. It used to have 3 other subspecies, which have now been re-classified as separate species; Iris spuria subsp. halophila (now Iris halophila), Iris spuria ssp. sogdiana (now Iris halophile subsp. sogdiana) and Iris spuria subsp. notha (now Iris notha). It has many common names including 'blue iris', 'spurious iris' and 'bastard iris'.