Spermatophytes (seed plants): Angiosperms (flowering plants): Monocots: Asparagales
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Iris cristata
FAMILY
Iridaceae
Go to FSUS key
Dig deeper at SERNEC, a consortium of southeastern herbaria.
Learn more about Iris from the Vascular Plants of North Carolina.
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Iris cristata
FAMILY
Iridaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH Flora of North America north of Mexico, vol. 26 (2002)
Iris cristata
SYNONYMOUS WITH VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 046-05-008:
Iris cristata FAMILY Iridaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Neubeckia cristata
COMMON NAME:
Dwarf Crested Iris
To see larger pictures, click or hover over the thumbnails.
)
USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / Britton, N.L., and A. Brown. 1913 pnd_ircr_001_lvd
)
JK Marlow jkm110313_830
March Greenville County SC
Chestnut Ridge Heritage Preserve
)
JK Marlow jkm230331_2257
March Spartanburg County SC
)
Richard and Teresa Ware rtw_iris_cristata_9
March
3 unmarked petals, 3 sepals with a small fluted yellow crest, per Wildflowers of Tennessee, the Ohio Valley, and the Southern Appalachians (Horn, Cathcart, Hemmerly, & Duhl, 2005).
)
Alan S. Weakley asw_2677521785723920
April Orange County NC
North Carolina Botanical Garden
)
Alan S. Weakley asw_930985808051416
April Orange County NC
North Carolina Botanical Garden
Sepals have a small, fluted, yellow crest bordered with white, per Wildflowers of Tennessee, the Ohio Valley, and the Southern Appalachians (Horn, Cathcart, Hemmerly, & Duhl, 2005).
)
Jim Fanning jcf_iriscristata
April Pickens County SC
SC Botanical Garden
)
JK Marlow jkm0404y_05
April Rutherford County NC
Chimney Rock Park
)
JK Marlow jkm0504t_18
April Pickens County SC
Table Rock State Park
Leaves are lance-shaped, per Newcomb's Wildflower Guide (Newcomb, 1977).
COMPARE
leaves of Dwarf Iris and Dwarf Crested Iris
)
JK Marlow jkm090412_061
April Greenville County SC
Chestnut Ridge Heritage Preserve
Leaves curved, making a gracefully arching fan, per Wildflowers of Tennessee, the Ohio Valley, and the Southern Appalachians (Horn, Cathcart, Hemmerly, & Duhl, 2005).
)
JK Marlow jkm140420_478b
April Greenville County SC
Chandler Heritage Preserve
A petaloid style, cleft at its tip, arches over the base of each sepal, per Vascular Flora of the Carolinas (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968).
)
JK Marlow jkm170415_671
April Sevier County TN
Great Smoky Mountains National Park
)
Keith Bradley kab_iris_cristata_4646
April Swain County TN
Great Smoky Mountains National Park
)
Steve Marlow snm041820_3970
April Greenville County SC
Ashmore Heritage Preserve
)
Ron Lance rwl758_a
May
)
JK Marlow jkm210624_1568
June Greenville County SC
Tall Pines Wildlife Management Area
)
JK Marlow jkm210903_3248
September Greenville County SC
Tall Pines Wildlife Management Area
)
JK Marlow jkm210903_3249
September Greenville County SC
Tall Pines Wildlife Management Area
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Iris cristata
FAMILY
Iridaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Iris cristata
FAMILY
Iridaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Flora of North America north of Mexico, vol. 26
Iris cristata
SYNONYMOUS WITH
VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 046-05-008:
Iris cristata
FAMILY
Iridaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Neubeckia cristata
758
Forb
Perennial
Habitat: Moist forests, rich woods, roadbanks, streambanks, per Weakley's Flora
Native to the Carolinas & Georgia
Common (rare in Coastal Plain)
CLICK HERE to see a map, notes, and images from Weakley's Flora of the Southeastern US.
LEAVES:
Simple
FLOWER:
Spring
Lavender/Violet
Radially symmetrical
3 sepals
3 petals
3 stamens
Inferior ovary
Bisexual
FRUIT:
Summer
Capsule
TO LEARN MORE about this plant, look it up in a good book!
- Gardening with Native Plants of the South (Wasowski & Wasowski, 1994, 2020) p132
- Gardening with the Native Plants of Tennessee (Hunter, 2002) p141
- Great Smoky Mountains Wildflowers (Campbell, Hutson, Sharp, & Hutson, 1962) p026
- Guide to the Wildflowers of SC, 1st ed. (Porcher & Rayner, 2001) p129
- Guide to the Wildflowers of SC, 2nd ed. (McMillan, Porcher, Rayner, & White; 2022) p250
- Guide to the Wildflowers of SC, 2nd ed. (McMillan, Porcher, Rayner, & White; 2022) p137
- Newcomb's Wildflower Guide (Newcomb, 1977) p120
- Wildflowers of the Atlantic Southeast (Cotterman, Waitt, & Weakley, 2019) p432
- Wildflowers of the Eastern United States (Duncan & Duncan, 1999) p173
- Wild Flowers of NC, 2nd edition (Justice, Bell, & Lindsey, 2005) p044
- Field Guide to the Wildflowers of Georgia (Chafin, 2016) p383
- Wildflowers of Tennessee (Carman, 2005) p386
- Wildflowers of Tennessee, the Ohio Valley, and the Southern Appalachians (Horn, Cathcart, Hemmerly, & Duhl, 2005) p441
- Wildflowers of the Southern Mountains (Smith, 1998) p019
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