PBSWiki - Garden Bearded Irises

On this page we are listing bearded Iris that do not have seeds with a fleshy appendage. Most belong to the subgenus Iris and include plants with a stout rhizome, fans of leaves, and falls with a distinct beard. Flowering stems are simple or branched and falls and standards well developed.

Other irises can be found on these wiki pages:
Aril Irises - Belamcanda - Beardless Irises - Crested Irises - Hermodactylus - Iris index - Juno Irises - Pacific Coast Irises - Reticulata Irises -- Spanish Irises

Iris albicans is a natural or ancient hybrid from Yemen and Saudia Arabia. It has fragrant pure white or blue flowers with a white beard tipped yellow. Photo by John Lonsdale.

Iris attica is a dwarf species from Greece, Yugoslavia, and Turkey . It has bright blue beards with various colored flowers. Photos by John Lonsdale.

Iris bicapitata is a medium bearded species endemic to the Gargano peninsula in northern Apulia. This species has been for a long time confused with the related but smaller Iris lutescens which occurs on the other side of Italian peninsula and has only recently been understood and described as a valid species. I. bicaptata bears two nicely scented flowers atop of the 30-40cm stalk, hence the specific name. The flowers open in succession of a few days or even together. It is normally seen in the deep violet form but uncommon colour variants exist, with combinations of yellow, white and violet in the standards and falls. All photos in habitat by Angelo Porcelli. In his experience, this species takes to cultivation exceedingly well. His plants start to flower intermittently from November to March and turned into large clumps from single rhizomes in just two seasons. Shown below are some of the varieties. First the typical form followed later by double head seed pods. Then a couple of yellow forms, the second with nice yellow standards, one with dark violet falls with a picotee margin, and one with pale blue standards and violet falls.

More variations including a pure white form, one with white standards and pale violet falls,a gray-lavender, and finally a vigorous clump.

Iris kochii is supposed to be an Italian species, but actually it's a sterile ancient hybrid, belonging to the medium bearded Iris. The plants I have seen so far appear to be virused, but flower and spread happily, totally neglected. Photos by Angelo Porcelli.

Iris lutescens - In this photo there are two color forms of this dwarf bearded Iris, grown from Mike Salmon seed, his collections originally from Italy and France. Grows to about 6"-8" (15-20 cm) tall. Photos by Mark McDonough and John Lonsdale.

Iris pallida flowering in mass, in an abandoned homestead in the south of Italy. I estimated over a thousand plants. At a later check, none of these plants have set any seed. Photo by Angelo Porcelli.

Iris pallida 'Aureovariegata' and a nearly identical form with white variegation are now the most readily obtained forms of this long cultivated plant. Unlike so many of the old garden irises with botanical names, Iris pallida is apparently a good species. Although small-flowered in comparison to modern hybrid bearded iris, this iris has never lost its following. Its wonderful fragrance may be one reason for this, and its early bloom and shining color allow it to be combined with a wide variety of other spring flowers to charming effect. This plant was photographed by Jim McKenney in his Montgomery County, Maryland, USA, zone 7 garden.

Iris pseudopumila is a dwarf bearded species, endemic of Apulia and Sicily. It is thought to be the ancestral form of all the bearded Iris. Populations of Apulia are usually yellow, while in Sicily blue-violet are more common even with intermediate specimens. It grows in shallow stony soils and flowers from January to March. This single-flower species is stemless, but the long floral tube acts as stem. Photo taken in habitat in Apulia by Angelo Porcelli.

Iris reichenbachii from Greece, Bulgaria, and Romania has yellow or purple flowers. Photo by John Lonsdale.

Iris schachtii is a short species with yellow or purple flowers found in central and western Turkey. Photo by John Lonsdale.

Iris sicula Tod. is a beautiful, very tall, bearded species, endemic to Sicily and minor islands such as Pantelleria and Malta. There is still a doubt about this species, but in my opinion it is clearly a valid one. It is vaguely related to Iris pallida according to some Italian botanist, but this is a more robust plant, with large flowers up to 20cm across and an odd chemical scent. These plants set seeds regularly in my yard. Photos by Angelo Porcelli.

Iris suaveolens , a species from the Balkans to northwestern Turkey has yellow flowers, with or without spots, or purplish-brown flowers with a yellow or bluish beard. Photos by John Lonsdale.

Return to the PBS Photographs And Information page