Blue Flag -- © Dave Spier
The Larger Blue Flag, Iris versicolor, or Fleur-de-lis, is the native alternative to the invasive Yellow Iris. These beautiful perennial herbs are cross-fertilized by honeybees, bumblebees and the Syrphid flies that are often mistaken for bees. In return, the iris provides sustenance in the form of nectar for these insects.
The pollen-producing stamens are hidden inside the iris at the base of the three "falls," the drooping, bluish petals with violet veins curving to the yellow runways that lead to the interior. To get inside, the insects crawl under the arching female styles where pollen is dislodged.
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| Syrphid fly visiting Larger Blue Flag at Seneca Meadows Wetland Preserve - © Dave Spier |
Several small, long-tongued butterflies have "learned" to bypass the pollen trap and go directly to the nectar between the divisions, thus depriving the iris of cross-pollination.
To learn more about native plants and their role in the environment, visit Habitat Gardening in Central New York, a chapter of Wild Ones: Native Plants, Natural Landscapes, or contact me at northeastnaturalist@yahoo.com Also visit the parallel blog http://adirondacknaturalist.blogspot.com/ for a profile of another wetland species, the Cinnamon Fern.
1 comment:
Here's a related website with more on native-plant landscaping: http://www.ourhabitatgarden.org/index.html
The link to Wild Ones is http://wildones.org/ in case you want to check for a local chapter [or start one! if there isn't].
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