Stats

Lifespan: Perennial
Size: Medium
Diet: Photosynthetic
Biome: Freshwater wetland
Range: Europe and western Asia
Movement: Sessile
Breeding: Seeds
Defense: Toxins
Status: Common

About

A bold wetland iris native to Europe and western Asia, now widely naturalised worldwide — and listed as invasive in many parts of North America. It produces vivid yellow blooms in late spring and can form dense, rhizome-spreading colonies that crowd out native marsh plants.

Life cycle

1.
seed
A dormant seed waits for water and warmth before germinating.
2.
sprout
A first shoot emerges with cotyledon leaves and a tap root reaching down.
3.
sapling
A young plant grows true leaves and a stem or trunk, putting on height each season.
4.
mature
Fully grown, flowering or fruiting at adult size.

Learn more

Taxonomy

Kingdom: Plantae
Phylum: Tracheophyta
Class: Liliopsida
Order: Asparagales
Family: Iridaceae
Genus: Iris
Species: Iris pseudacorus