USDA Forest Service Celebrating Wildflowers

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Beauty of It All

Our Native Irises

Pacific Coast

Iris bracteata

Iris chrysophylla

Iris douglasiana

Iris fernaldii

Iris hartwegii

Iris innominata

Iris macrosiphon

Iris munzii

Iris purdyi

Iris tenax

Iris tenuissima

Our Native Irises: Pacific Coast Irises

Iris innominata: Del Norte County Iris

Del Norte County Iris is endemic to extreme southwestern Oregon and adjacent Del Norte County in extreme northwestern California.

Map of the range of Iris innominata in California.
Range map of Iris innominata in California. Courtesy of the USDA PLANTS Database.

Map of the range of Iris innominata in Oregon.
Range map of Iris innominata in Oregon. Courtesy of the USDA PLANTS Database.

Iris innominata flowers display a myriad of colors, golden yellow, light cream, apricot, orange, light pink, and purple. The sepals are moderately upright and then arching downward with prominent colored veins. The petals are upright and slightly spreading, shorter and narrower than the sepals, similar in coloration. The inflorescence generally has only one flower rarely two. The flowering stalk is shorter than the attending leaves. The leaves are dark green and glossy, upright, slightly reflexed, and with purple-red spots near the base, from branching rhizomes with fibrous roots. The overall plant appears as short, compact tufts.

white Iris innominata.
A white form of Iris innominata with very prominent purple veins and a faint yellow signal serving as a guide for pollinators. Courtesy Society for Pacific Coast Native Iris.

yellow Iris innominata.
A beautiful shade of golden yellow with prominent reddish veins make this a truly beautiful specimen of Iris innominata. Courtesy Society for Pacific Coast Native Iris.

habitat for Iris innominata.
A small patch of Del Norte County Iris in a sunny opening in a woodland setting. Courtesy Society for Pacific Coast Native Iris.

Iris innominata is found growing in woodlands or conifer forests in open areas that are slightly shaded and in sunny meadows.

For More Information

Celebrating Wildflowers Partners

U.S. Forest Service
Rangeland Management
Botany Program

1400 Independence Ave., SW, Mailstop Code: 1103
Washington DC 20250-1103

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Location: http://www.fs.fed.us/wildflowers/beauty/iris/pacific/iris_innominata.shtml
Last modified: Monday, 05-Mar-2012 13:02:35 EST