Iris missouriensis
Template:Short description Template:Speciesbox
Iris missouriensis (syn. I. montana) is a hardy flowering rhizomatous species of the genus Iris, in the family Iridaceae. Its common names include western blue flag, Rocky Mountain iris,[1] and Missouri flag.
It is native to western North America. Its distribution is varied; it grows at high elevations in mountains and alpine meadows and all the way down to sea level in coastal hills.[2][3]
Description
Iris missouriensis is an erect herbaceous rhizomatous perennial, Script error: No such module "convert". high, with leafless unbranched scapes (flowering stems) and linear basal leaves, 5 to 10 mm wide, similar in height to the scapes. The inflorescence usually consists of one or two flowers, exceptionally three or four. Each flower has three light to dark blue, spreading or reflexed sepals lined with purple and three smaller upright blue petals.[4][5][6][7] They produce a large fruit capsule.[8]
The plant populations often spread outwards from the older plants, leaving a dead opening in the center of a growing ring.[8]
Uses
Some Native American tribes made cordage from the plant's stems and leaves.[9] Some Plateau Indian tribes used the roots to treat toothache.[10] The Navajo used a decoction of the plant as an emetic.[11] Plains Indians are said to have extracted the toxin irisin (also known as iridin and irisine)[12] from the plant to use as arrow poison.[8] The Zuni apply a poultice of chewed root to increase the strength of newborns and infants.[13]
This iris is listed as a weed in some areas, particularly in agricultural California. It is bitter and distasteful to livestock and heavy growths of the plant are a nuisance in pasture land. Heavy grazing in an area promotes the growth of this hardy iris.[6]
The plant is widely cultivated in temperate regions.[14]
Toxicity
The plant is toxic, particularly the rootstalks, which contain the potentially lethal irisin.[8]
References
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- ↑ Donald Wyman Template:Trim&pg=PA576 Wyman's Gardening Encyclopedia, p. 576, at Google Books
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- ↑ Goldblatt, Peter (1980). Uneven Diploid Chromosome Numbers and Complex Heterozygosity in Homeria (Iridaceae). Systematic Botany, Vol. 5, No. 4, pp. 337–340
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- ↑ Camazine, Scott; Bye, Robert A. (1980). "A Study of the Medical Ethnobotany of the Zuni Indians of New Mexico", Journal of Ethnopharmacology 2: 365–388 (p. 373)
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External links
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- Iris (plant)
- Flora of the Northwestern United States
- Flora of the Southwestern United States
- Flora of Western Canada
- Flora of Mexico
- Plants used in traditional Native American medicine
- Garden plants of North America
- Flora without expected TNC conservation status