Click on the image for a larger, hi-res version (on Flickr).
A native blue flag iris wildflower blooms creekside in spring.
Trailhead Community Park of the East Decatur Greenway in the City of Decatur, Georgia, USA. 7 May 2025.
The large blue flag iris (Iris versicolor) —also known as Harlequin Blueflag, Large Blue Iris, Northern Blue Flag— is a perennial in the Iridaceae (iris) family native to Canada and the United States, spanning south from Nova Scotia into the middle and northeastern United States to Virginia. The specific epithet, 'versicolor,' is derived from this plant's ability to produce many-colored blooms while the common name, 'flag,' comes from an old English word (flagge) for reeds and refers to its natural preference to wetlands. In fact, it prefers to grow in rich, moist soils and thrives in full sun.— North Carolina Cooperative Extension
The sword shaped blue-green clumping leaves reach 2 to 2½ feet tall topped with a mass of blue lavender to white blooms. The blooms are formed of three upright inner standards and three distinctly marked sepals. The leaves are narrow and strap-like 1 inch wide and up to 24 inches long crossing at the base to be fan-like.
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McCoy Tyner: Love Surrounds Us
Album: Uptown Downtown (Milestone, 1989)
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Album: Uptown Downtown (Milestone, 1989)
