Iris setosa

USDA Forest Service

USDA Forest Service

Common Name: Blue Flag Iris, Wild Flag Iris, Beachhead Iris

Iris setosa has a deep violet blue flower and blooms mid-summer. The sepals are deeply-veined dark purple with a yellow-white signal. The petals are very reduced in size, not exceeding the base of the sepals. Beachhead iris flowers in late spring, on a one flowered inflorescence. The leaves are stiff, narrow and green, with a purplish tinged base. The leaves are up to 12 inches high. The leaves arise from shallowly rooted, large, branching rhizomes forming clumps. Grows in moist ground on rocky shores, beachheads and headlands on the coastal plain. Native from northwest British Columbia to Alaska. (Source: USDA Forest Service)