12 Sunday May 2024
Posted in flowers, wildflowers
≈ Comments Off on Yellow flag irises
Until this last week of hot dry weather, this large clump of Yellow flag irises (Iris pseudacorus) had its roots in a pool of water, their preferred habitat, the leaves looked lush and verdant, the flowers sunny and glorious.
These plants can withstand quite dry conditions, but, as I write this late Sunday afternoon, we have constant thunder and torrential rain, so I think their feet will be damp once again and the irises will be looking lovely for some time yet.
13 Thursday Jun 2019
Posted in flowers, nature, wildflowers
Tags
#365DaysWild, British native plants, British wildflowers, Iris, Iris foetidissima, Iris pseudacorus, native British irises, Stinking iris, wildflowers, Yellow iris
Though garden escapees can falsely colour the picture, Britain has just two native irises – these are they …
Yellow iris (Iris pseudacorus)
Also known as Yellow flag iris, Jacob’s sword and a host of other vernacular names, the Yellow iris likes to bury its roots in the wet, often by ponds, streams and rivers but also in meadows where conditions under-root are damp and soggy. And that’s where I found these Yellow irises yesterday, in an area of damp ground inside a huge motorway roundabout north of Cardiff.
Stinking iris (Iris foetidissima)
Despite its (I think) unjustified name – apparently its leaves when rubbed, emit a smell like stale raw beef, but why would you rub its leaves? – this iris has the most exquisite delicate flowers. It can be found in a variety of habitats, from shady woodland rides to exposed cliff-tops – and that’s where I found this one, flowering happily alongside the coastal path at Lavernock.
16 Friday Jun 2017
Posted in flowers, nature, wildflowers
Tags
British flora, British native flowers, British wildflowers, Iris pseudacorus, Segg, Yellow flag iris, Yellow iris
The Yellow iris (Iris pseudacorus), also known as the Yellow flag iris, is really a spring bloomer but I’m still seeing some flowers in the damper boggy and waterside areas during my countryside wanders so I thought I’d share some photos of them before they all disappear for the summer.
Of course, the wonderfully green, spear-like leaves don’t disappear and they are, in fact, where this plant got one of its common names, Segg. According to Richard Mabey’s Flora Britannica, Segg is a variant of sedge and is derived from the Anglo-Saxon word for a short sword, though I have also seen Segg spelt secg and the Oxford Dictionary says sedge came originally from the Old English word secg, which has Germanic origins and whence also came the Latin secare meaning ‘to cut’ – hence secateurs. Here endeth today’s lesson!
