Iris pallida

Iris pallida
Sweet Iris (Iris pallida)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
(unranked):	Angiosperms
(unranked):	Monocots
Order:	Asparagales
Family:	Iridaceae
Subfamily:	Iridoideae
Tribe:	Irideae
Genus:	Iris
Subgenus:	Iris
Species:	I. pallida
Binomial name
Iris pallida Lam.
Synonyms
Iris × australis var. mandraliscae (Tod.) Nyman Iris × australis var. tinaei (Tod.) Nyman Iris desertorum Balb. [Illegitimate] Iris fulgida Berg Iris × germanica subsp. pallida (Lam.) O.Bolòs & Vigo Iris glauca Salisb. Iris gloriosa Reider ex Berg Iris hortensis Tausch Iris mandraliscae Tod. Iris marchesettii Pamp. Iris moggridgei Baker Iris odoratissima Jacq. Iris pallida subsp. mandraliscae (Tod.) K.Richt. Iris pallida var. odoratissima (Jacq.) Nyman Iris pallida subsp. pallida (unknown) Iris pallida var. rosea Prodán Iris pallida subsp. sicula (Tod.) K.Richt. Iris pallida subsp. tinaei (Tod.) K.Richt. Iris pallidecaerulaea Pers. Iris picta Spreng. [Illegitimate] Iris plicata Lam. Iris propendens Lange Iris sicula Tod. Iris swertii Lam. Iris tinaei Tod.

Iris pallida (Dalmatian iris or sweet iris) is a hardy flowering perennial plant of the genus Iris, family Iridaceae. It is native to the Dalmatian coast (Croatia) but widely naturalised elsewhere. It is a member of the subgenus iris, meaning that it is a bearded iris, and grows from a rhizome.

This iris prefers rocky places in the mediterranean and submediterranean zone and reaches sometimes montane regions at its southern range in Montenegro. It grows to a stem height of 50–80 cm (20–31 in). The leaves are bluish-green in color, and sword-shaped, 40–50 cm (16–20 in) in length, and 2.5–3 cm (0.98–1.18 in) in width. The inflorescence, produced in May/June, is fan-shaped and contains two or three flowers which are usually pale purplish to whitish.

It is cultivated as a garden plant, and commercially for extraction of essential oils from its rhizome (orris root).

Three subspecies of Iris pallida s.l. are recognised by some authors as species: Iris pallida subsp. cengialti, (with deep purplish flowers) from Slovenia and adjacent Italy, Iris pallida ssp.illyrica, from the North Dalmatian coast, and Iris pallida ssp. pseudopallida from the South Dalmatian coast. The newly described Orjen Iris (I. orjenii) has white flowers.

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Wikipedia