Orthrosanthus is a small genus in the Iridaceae family with 4 species from Australia and three others from South or Central America. Plants have basal linear grass-like tufting leaves and short-lived blue or white flowers. They are sometimes called Morning Flag or Morning Iris because their flowers are best in the morning and fade as the day progresses.
Orthrosanthus chimboracensis a plant from Central America, produces many pale blue flowers over a long time in summer. I find in my Mediterranean garden it does just fine with a lot of winter rainfall and not much summer water. I've read that it is very tender, but it has survived freezing temperatures in my garden (Zone 9 winter temperatures.) The first two photos were taken by Mary Sue Ittner and the last by Lee Poulsen August 2004. He wrote: "Mine finally bloomed and isn't nearly as blue as Mary Sue's plants, in fact it's nearly white."
Orthrosanthus polystachyus from southwestern Western Australia grows in forest gullies and along water courses. It prefers a semi shaded site that is moist for much of the year. The blue flowers appear in spring. Photo by Mary Sue Ittner.
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