5. Iris orientalis Mill.

Map 346

I. ochroleuca L.

Rhizomes lacking conspicuously thickened areas. Aerial stems 40–90 cm long, usually slightly longer than the leaves, erect. Leaves basal and few on the aerial stems, 35–80 cm long, 10–20 mm wide, erect to spreading. Clusters of flowers terminal and axillary, each with 2–4 flowers, the spathelike bracts subequal, 3–5 cm long, mostly papery and white. Sepals 8–10 cm long, spreading or arching downward, broadly spathulate with the expanded apical portion shorter than the narrowed, stalklike base, glabrous or sparsely hairy toward the base, white with a yellow area in the basal half of the expanded portion. Petals somewhat shorter and narrower than the sepals, erect, white. Capsules 2.5–5.5 cm long, ovoid to oblong-elliptic in outline, 3-angled with a pair of ribs at each angle. May–July.

Introduced, escaped from cultivation in Platte County (apparently native to Turkey and Greece, sporadically cultivated throughout temperate regions, becoming naturalized only rarely in North America). Grassy roadsides.

This species was reported for Missouri by Henderson (1980), who noted that it was apparently spreading along the stretch of roadside where it was found. According to Mathew (1981), it is adapted to saline soils, and thus it might be expected to thrive along highway margins. However, the species is not commonly cultivated in the United States, and it seems unlikely that it will spread to other parts of the state.