''Iris fernaldii'', commonly known as Fernald's iris, is a species of

iris Iris most often refers to: *Iris (anatomy), part of the eye *Iris (mythology), a Greek goddess * ''Iris'' (plant), a genus of flowering plants *Iris (color), an ambiguous color term Iris or IRIS may also refer to: Arts and media Fictional enti ...

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsew ...

to western

Northern California Northern California (colloquially known as NorCal) is a geographic and cultural region that generally comprises the northern portion of the U.S. state of California. Spanning the state's northernmost 48 counties, its main population centers incl ...

. It is native to the Inner and Outer North

California Coast Ranges The Coast Ranges of California span from Del Norte or Humboldt County, California, south to Santa Barbara County. The other three coastal California mountain ranges are the Transverse Ranges, Peninsular Ranges and the Klamath Mountains. P ...

, such as the

Santa Cruz Mountains The Santa Cruz Mountains, part of the Pacific Coast Ranges, are a mountain range in central and Northern California, United States. They form a ridge down the San Francisco Peninsula, south of San Francisco. They separate the Pacific Ocean from ...

, and surrounding the

San Francisco Bay Area The San Francisco Bay Area, often referred to as simply the Bay Area, is a populous region surrounding the San Francisco, San Pablo, and Suisun Bay estuaries in Northern California. The Bay Area is defined by the Association of Bay Area Go ...

. It is found between in elevation. It grows in full sun near the coast, and afternoon shade inland. Fernald's are no longer found in pure form in Marin County, however; they have naturally hybridized with Douglas iris in this area.

Description

''Iris fernaldii'' spreads by underground

rhizome In botany and dendrology, a rhizome (; , ) is a modified subterranean plant stem that sends out roots and shoots from its nodes. Rhizomes are also called creeping rootstalks or just rootstalks. Rhizomes develop from axillary buds and grow hori ...

s. It has leaves that are gray-green with pink, red, or purple coloring along their edges and bases. The plants grow to tall The gray-veined yellow flowers usually grow paired on a stem. The color ranges from creamy white or a rich to pale yellow, and rarely light lavender.

Cultivation

''Iris fernaldii'' is cultivated as an

ornamental plant Ornamental plants or garden plants are plants that are primarily grown for their beauty but also for qualities such as scent or how they shape physical space. Many flowering plants and garden varieties tend to be specially bred cultivars that i ...

by specialty

plant nurseries A nursery is a place where plants are propagated and grown to a desired size. Mostly the plants concerned are for gardening, forestry or conservation biology, rather than agriculture. They include retail nurseries, which sell to the general p ...

. It is used in traditional flower beds,

native plant In biogeography, a native species is indigenous to a given region or ecosystem if its presence in that region is the result of only local natural evolution (though often popularised as "with no human intervention") during history. The term is equ ...

and

habitat garden A wildlife garden (or wild garden) is an environment created by a gardener that serves as a sustainable haven for surrounding wildlife. Wildlife gardens contain a variety of habitats that cater to native and local plants, birds, amphibians, ...

drought tolerant Drought tolerance is the ability to which a plant maintains its biomass production during arid or drought conditions. Some plants are naturally adapted to dry conditions'','' surviving with protection mechanisms such as desiccation tolerance, detox ...

and

natural landscaping Natural landscaping, also called native gardening, is the use of native plants and adapted species, including trees, shrubs, groundcover, and grasses which are local to the geographic area of the garden. Benefits Maintenance Natural landsc ...

, and for

habitat restoration Restoration ecology is the scientific study supporting the practice of ecological restoration, which is the practice of renewing and restoring degraded, damaged, or destroyed ecosystems and habitats in the environment by active human interrupt ...

projects. Occasional summer irrigation is needed in warmer climates.Las Pilitas Nursery horticulture database: ''Iris fernaldii'' (Fernald's iris)
/ref>

References

External links

CalFlora Database: ''Iris fernaldii'' (Fernald's iris)Jepson Manual eFlora (TJM2) treatment of ''Iris fernaldii''USDA Plants Profile for ''Iris fernaldii'' (Fernald's iris)Flora of North AmericaU.C. Photos Gallery — ''Iris fernaldii'' (Fernald's iris)
*http://www.pacificcoastiris.org/spcni_photojournals/pj_marinsantacruziris.html Marin and Santa Cruz Iris hybrids {{Taxonbar, from=Q6070351 fernaldii Endemic flora of California Natural history of the California chaparral and woodlands Natural history of the California Coast Ranges Garden plants of North America Flora without expected TNC conservation status

Description

Cultivation

See also

References

External links