Yellow Flag Iris

Iris pseudacoru
Quick ID:

• Perennial, forming dense stands of robust plants.
• Non-native member of the Iris family (Iridaceae).
• Best Identifying characteristic (when in bloom) is the very showy yellow iris flowers.

Habitat:

• Grows in water up to 25cm deep, or very near water.
• Is tolerant of drought – “excavated rhizomes continue growing after three months without water” (Sutherland 1990).

How It Got Here:

• Brought to Canada and the U.S. as an ornamental plant in the early 1900’s.
• It was also used as an erosion control plant.

Reasons for Concern:

• Is a fast growing/spreading invasive plant that can out compete other wetland plants
• Forms almost impenetrable thickets, similar to the way cat-tails do.
• Individual plants produce from several dozen to several hundred rooted rosettes and flowering shoots connected by durable rhizomes.