The Iris: February's Flower of the Month

February 28, 2025

The Origin of the Iris

The iris family got its start about 82 million years ago, as many plants did, on what is now Antarctica. At the time, the continent was nearer to modern day Africa, with some parts extending well north of the Arctic Circle. As the continents shifted, varieties of irises evolved all over the globe but have the deepest roots in Egypt.

The iris (as a garden plant) dates back to 1469 B.C. when King Thutmose III of Egypt found the iris after conquering Syria. Thutmose was an avid flower collector and brought the flower back to Egypt as a symbol of the essence and renewal of life. He used it for religious ceremonies, perfumes, medicine, and anything they could think of. This started the bloom of irises in royalty.

Medieval to Modern Medicine

Irises have deep history in Greece, as “Iris” is also the goddess of the rainbow and messenger of the Olympian gods. The flower was named the iris for its rainbow of colors and was thought to be a messenger from the heavens, carrying messages, healing, and beauty. The divine connection gave the iris a sacred status that permeated through history in its links to royalty.

The famous Greek physician Pedants Dioscorides wrote a five-volume pharmacological book on plants around 60 C.E. In that book, the first entry is the iris. He describes it having rhizomes that are used for a wide aray of ailments; my favorites being removing freckles from the face, provoking tears, liquifying coughs, and regenerating flesh.

Sounds pretty magical to me - if you’d like to read the full list this short article is wonderful.

Iris in manuscript of Vienna, National Library of Austria,

medicus graecus 1, ca. 512, Constantinople, f. 167 verso

The rhizomes, leaves, and roots were used for a myriad of ailments, but the true power of the plant lies in the Iris germanica, I. florentina and I. pallida—all plants of European origin— which are still used in traditional medicine.

In modern day, the iris can be found in cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, and food industries. It’s a potent antioxidant, anticancer, and anti-inflammatory, etc. The list goes on but the words get bigger and harder to understand. The gist is that research into compounds in irises are opening a promising lead for new drugs that can help with oxidative-stress related diseases like cancer, neurodivergent illnesses, cardiovascular disease, and diabetes.

Dyes, Fibers, Paper, Oh My!

The plant seems to cover all the bases and has been used to make rope, paper and dyes! In western North America, leaves of the roughleaved iris (iris tenax) are traditionally used to make ropes, fishing nets, and snares. Indigenous communities have used a handful of iris species for centuries to make string and ropes especially in the northwest part of the United States. Fiber from iris leaves can be used to make paper, and the “iris green” pigment can be processed from the juice of some species flowers.

From Jurriaan Boerman’s recipe and blog that you can find here

It was used in medieval manuscript as an alternative to “bladder green” which was derived from the fruit of buckthorn berries. Recipes from the 14th and 15th centuries even mention using iris pollen to create yellows. Natural dyes are a personal passion of mine, so I’m feeling extra inspired to go test out some iris colors!

Physical Properties and Cultivation

So you know all the exciting uses and histories, but what about the plant itself? It turns out there are a number of distinct iris families; two of which are flag irises and Siberian Irises. Flag irises include the common blue flag irises found in bogs and swamps of the northeaster US and the yellow flag iris that is native to Europe but now found all over the world. Both types are beardless - which I’ll get to in a second.

The Siberian iris is a hardy, long-living iris that grows to be four feet tall - absolutely huge! It has narrower leaves and petals that look more like a landing pad that the beautiful frilly flowers you see on the cover of Country Gardens.

Now back to the beards. It turns out you can classify irises as bearded or non-bearded based on the lower three petals. Some of them have fuzzy bits trailing from the center that act as an extra landing pad for pollinators (which you can see in this iris). Non-bearded varieties, as you may guess, don’t have the fuzzies there. I like knowing that I can now go around and let me gardening family members know if their irises are bearded or non-bearded, I hope you get to do the same.

Cultivation:

There are over 250 species of the genus Iris, The most well known varieties are the tall bearded irises which reach 2-3 feet tall. All varieties have six petals; three drooping down called falls, and three pointing upward called standards. The flowers grow from rhizomes, making them super easy to separate, transplant, and share with your friends. Most varieties bloom in the late spring or early summer, though some are what’s called “remontant” which means they will bloom again in the later summer.

Fun Facts

The seeds, which float, spread readily in running water and often clog waterways in areas that they’re abundant
The Chinese name for iris translates to 'purple butterfly'
In medieval France, peasants planted native irises on the edges of their thatched roofs so they’re roots would prevent erosion and absorb extra runoff.
If you speak any French, you may know that the famous fleur-de-lis translatesinto lily flower. However, the inspiration for this design may not have been a lily at all, but the yellow iris. It’s said that in 1147, King Louis the VII had a dream where he was commanded to adopt the iris as the national flower which is why it became the emblem. On top of the fact that yellow irises bloom all along the rivers in France.