Douglas Iris
585854
191433736
2008-02-14T15:41:43Z
JoJan
58781
rm color to allow taxobox autocoloration and remove vandalism magnet
{{Taxobox
| name = Douglas Iris
| image = DouglasIris.jpg
| image_width = 250px
| image_caption = Douglas Iris, Point Reyes National Seashore
| regnum = [[Plant]]ae
| divisio = [[flowering plant|Magnoliophyta]]
| classis = [[monocotyledon|Liliopsida]]
| ordo = [[Asparagales]]
| familia = [[Iridaceae]]
| genus = ''[[Iris (plant)|Iris]]''
| species = '''''I. douglasiana'''''
| binomial = ''Iris douglasiana''
| binomial_authority = Herb.
}}
The '''Douglas Iris''', ''Iris douglasiana'', is a common and attractive [[wildflower]] of the coastal regions of [[Northern California|Northern]] and Central [[California]] and southern [[Oregon]]. The names ''Iris beecheyana'' and ''I. watsoniana'' have also been used for this plant, but ''Iris douglasiana'' has precedence.
The Douglas Iris grows mainly at lower elevations, below 100 metres, though it is occasionally found at heights of up to 1000 metres. It is most common in [[California coastal prairie|grasslands near the coast]]; it is regarded as a noxious [[weed]] in pastures, because it forms clumps that inhibit other vegetation, and its [[Leaf|leaves]] are bitter and unpalatable to [[cattle]].
This is a typical beardless Iris of subgenus ''[[Limniris]]'', series ''[[Californicae]]'', growing from a [[rhizome]] that is typically under a centimetre in diameter. Its leaves are about 2 cm wide. It flowers from April to June. [[Flower]]s are usually a purplish-blue, though occasionally white or yellow flowers are found. Two or three flowers are found on each stem, which is of variable height, ranging from 15-80 cm tall.
Several varieties have been recognised, for example ''Iris douglasiana'' var. ''altissima'' (Jeps.) and ''Iris douglasiana'' var. ''oregonensis'' (R. C. Foster), but the species is highly variable and the varieties may not be well enough defined to be of much practical use. The Douglas Iris hybridises freely with several other species; its natural hybrid with ''[[Iris innominata|I. innominata]]'' has been designated as ''Iris ×thompsonii'' (R. C. Foster), and the garden hybrid with the same species as ''Iris ×aureonympha'' (E. H. English).
== External links ==
* [http://flora.huh.harvard.edu:8080/flora/browse.do?flora_id=1&taxon_id=242101699&key_no=1 Entry in the Flora of North America Online]
* [http://ucjeps.berkeley.edu/cgi-bin/get_JM_treatment.pl?Iris+douglasiana Treatment from the Jepson Manual]
* [http://elib.cs.berkeley.edu/cgi/img_query?where-genre=Plant&rel-cname=like&where-cname=Douglas+Iris Photographs from the CalPhotos archive]
[[Category:Flowers]]
[[Category:Iris]]
[[Category:Flora of California|Iris douglas, Douglas Iris]]
[[Category:Flora of Oregon|Iris douglas, Douglas Iris]]