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Iris germanica

Common name:	Purple Flag	Family:	Iridaceae
Author:	L.	Botanical references:	200
Synonyms:
Known Hazards:	The leaves, and especially the rhizomes, of this species contain an irritating resinous substance called irisin. If ingested this can cause severe gastric disturbances[274]. Plants can cause skin irritations and allergies in some people[238].
Range:	The original habitat is obscure, it is probably of hybrid origin.
Habitat:	Dry rocky places[187]
Edibility Rating (1-5):	2	Medicinal Rating (1-5):	3

Other Possible Synonyms:	From various places across the web, may not be correct. See below.
	I. x germanica[G,H]
Other Common Names:	From various places around the Web, may not be correct. See below.
	Affodillus [E], Bearded Iris [L], Blue Flower De Luce [H], Flag [L], Fleur-de-lis [L], Garden Iris [L], German Iris [L,B,H,P], Iris [H], Lirio [E], Mogadore Orris [H], Mor Susen [E], Morocco Orris [H], Murasaki-Irisu [E], Orris Root [H], Veronese Orris [H],
Epithets:	From a Dictionary of Botanical Epithets
	germanica = of Germany
Systematics:	From a USDA Plants Database
	Order: Liliales. Iris family
Other Range Info:	From the Ethnobotany Database
	Egypt Greece Spain Turkey
Noxious, Invasive and Injurious Weeds	From USDA PLANTS database, Weeds Australia , DEFRA Injurious Weeds
	Listed as noxious/invasive for: Nevada.

Physical Characteristics

Perennial growing to 1m by 1.5m . It is hardy to zone 5 and is not frost tender. It is in flower from May to June. The scented flowers are hermaphrodite (have both male and female organs) and are pollinated by Insects. The plant is self-fertile. We rate it 2/5 for edibility and 3/5 for medicinal use.

The plant prefers light (sandy) and medium (loamy) soils and requires well-drained soil. The plant prefers acid, neutral and basic (alkaline) soils and can grow in very alkaline soil. It can grow in semi-shade (light woodland) or no shade. It requires dry or moist soil.

Habitats and Possible Locations

Woodland, Cultivated Beds, Sunny Edge, Dappled Shade.

Edible Uses

Condiment.

The root is dried and used as a flavouring[105, 183].

Medicinal Uses

Disclaimer

Diuretic Emetic Expectorant Purgative.

The root is diuretic, emetic, expectorant and mildly purgative[7, 9, 61]. Another report says that the juice of the fresh root is a strong purge of great efficiency in the treatment of dropsy[4]. In the past, sections of the dried root have been given to teething babies to chew on, though this has been discontinued for hygienic reasons[9]. Roots of plants 2 - 3 years old are dug up after flowering and are then dried for later use[7].

We have a more details factsheet on the history and medicinal use of this plant. Email webmaster@pfaf.org for details.

Other Uses

Baby care Beads Cosmetic Dye Essential.

The root is a source of Orris powder which has the scent of violets[238]. It is obtained by grinding up the dried root[4, 7, 46]. It is much used as a fixative in perfumery and pot-pourri, as an ingredient of toothpastes, breath fresheners etc and as a food flavouring. The root can take several years of drying to fully develop its fragrance, when fresh it has an acrid flavour and almost no smell[4, 168]. An essential oil is obtained from the fresh root, this has the same uses as the root[57, 61].
The juice of the root is sometimes used as a cosmetic and also for the removal of freckles from the skin[4].
A black dye is obtained from the root[168].
A blue dye is obtained from the flowers[168].
The seeds are used as rosary beads[61].

Cultivation details

A very easily grown plant that tolerates considerable neglect[233], it prefers a sunny position in a well-drained soil that contains some lime[1, 79]. Grows well in dry soils in light deciduous shade[187]. Succeeds in full sun or partial shade[79]. Prefers a pH in the range 6 to 7.5 or higher[200].
Many named varieties have been selected for their ornamental value[187]. The plant is also sometimes cultivated for the essential oil in its root[9].
The plant is sterile and does not produce seed[233].
Members of this genus are rarely if ever troubled by browsing deer or rabbits[233].

Propagation

Seed - best sown as soon as it is ripe in a cold frame. Stored seed should be sown as early in the year as possible in a cold frame. A sterile plant, it does not produce seed[233].
Division, best done after flowering. Very easy, larger clumps can be replanted direct into their permanent positions, though it is best to pot up smaller clumps and grow them on in a cold frame until they are rooting well. Plant them out in the spring.

Scent

Root: Dried: The dried root develops a delicious fragrance.

Cultivars

'': There are some named forms for this species, but these have been developed for their ornamental value and not for their other uses. Unless you particularly require the special characteristics of any of these cultivars, we would generally recommend that you grow the natural species for its useful properties. We have, therefore, not listed the cultivars in this database[K].

Suppliers

For more details of plant suppliers please see our Suppliers Page which lists many more places to look.

Web References

Details of Medicinal Uses, Habitats, etc. in M. Grieve A Modern Herbal (1931) [4]
[H] Details of Scandanavian and European Common names in Henriette's names database
[E] Ethnobotany Data (common names, uses, countries) from the Ethnobotany Database.
[V] Images from the Vascular Plant Image Gallery of the Texas A& M Bioinformatics Working Group.
[B] Data (Latin & Common names, other references) from the BONAP's Synonymized Checklist of the Vascular Flora of the United States, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands.
[P] Data. (uses, distribution, wetland) from the USDA'a Plants database.
[HP] Links, Photos, Suppliers from Hortiplex Plant Database

References for Iris x germanica (a possible synonym).

[H] Details of Scandanavian and European Common names in Henriette's names database
[G] Data (Common Names, Uses, Distribution) from the USDA/ARS NPGS's GRIN taxonomic database.
[PHARM] Phytochemical Data (common names, uses, countries) from Dr Duke's Phytochemical Database.

References for the family Iridaceae.

[CHINA] Data Very detailed botanical/identification info. from the Flora of China.

See the PFAF Links Pages for other sources.

Also try Photos and info from the The Plants Database which has 14,000 images.

References

[1] F. Chittendon. RHS Dictionary of Plants plus Supplement. 1956 Oxford University Press 1951
Comprehensive listing of species and how to grow them. Somewhat outdated, it has been replaces in 1992 by a new dictionary (see [200]).

[4] Grieve. A Modern Herbal. Penguin 1984 ISBN 0-14-046-440-9
Not so modern (1930's?) but lots of information, mainly temperate plants.

[7] Chiej. R. Encyclopaedia of Medicinal Plants. MacDonald 1984 ISBN 0-356-10541-5
Covers plants growing in Europe. Also gives other interesting information on the plants. Good photographs.

[9] Launert. E. Edible and Medicinal Plants. Hamlyn 1981 ISBN 0-600-37216-2
Covers plants in Europe. a drawing of each plant, quite a bit of interesting information.

[46] Uphof. J. C. Th. Dictionary of Economic Plants. Weinheim 1959
An excellent and very comprehensive guide but it only gives very short descriptions of the uses without any details of how to utilize the plants. Not for the casual reader.

[57] Schery. R. W. Plants for Man.
Fairly readable but not very comprehensive. Deals with plants from around the world.

[61] Usher. G. A Dictionary of Plants Used by Man. Constable 1974 ISBN 0094579202
Forget the sexist title, this is one of the best books on the subject. Lists a very extensive range of useful plants from around the world with very brief details of the uses. Not for the casual reader.

[79] Innes. C. The World of Iridaceae
Deals with many of the plants in the Iris family giving brief details of habitat and notes on cultivation. Well illustrated.

[105] Tanaka. T. Tanaka's Cyclopaedia of Edible Plants of the World. Keigaku Publishing 1976
The most comprehensive guide to edible plants I've come across. Only the briefest entry for each species, though, and some of the entries are more than a little dubious. Not for the casual reader.

[168] Grae. I. Nature's Colors - Dyes from Plants. MacMillan Publishing Co. New York. 1974 ISBN 0-02-544950-8
A very good and readable book on dyeing.

[183] Facciola. S. Cornucopia - A Source Book of Edible Plants. Kampong Publications 1990 ISBN 0-9628087-0-9
Excellent. Contains a very wide range of conventional and unconventional food plants (including tropical) and where they can be obtained (mainly N. American nurseries but also research institutes and a lot of other nurseries from around the world.

[187] Phillips. R. & Rix. M. Perennials Volumes 1 and 2. Pan Books 1991 ISBN 0-330-30936-9
Photographs of over 3,000 species and cultivars of ornamental plants together with brief cultivation notes, details of habitat etc.

[200] Huxley. A. The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. MacMillan Press 1992 ISBN 0-333-47494-5
Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.

[233] Thomas. G. S. Perennial Garden Plants J. M. Dent & Sons, London. 1990 ISBN 0 460 86048 8
A concise guide to a wide range of perennials. Lots of cultivation guides, very little on plant uses.

[238] Bown. D. Encyclopaedia of Herbs and their Uses. Dorling Kindersley, London. 1995 ISBN 0-7513-020-31
A very well presented and informative book on herbs from around the globe. Plenty in it for both the casual reader and the serious student. Just one main quibble is the silly way of having two separate entries for each plant.

[245] Genders. R. Scented Flora of the World. Robert Hale. London. 1994 ISBN 0-7090-5440-8
An excellent, comprehensive book on scented plants giving a few other plant uses and brief cultivation details. There are no illustrations.

Readers Comments

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Plant information taken from the Plants For A Future - Species Database. Copyright (c) 1997-2003.
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