''Iris tenuissima'' 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 ...

known by the common name longtube iris. It is

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 ...

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

, where it is a common wildflower in the woodlands and forests of the northern part of the state.

Description

This

rhizomatous 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 ...

perennial herb produces narrow leaves and an erect

inflorescence An inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a stem that is composed of a main branch or a complicated arrangement of branches. Morphologically, it is the modified part of the shoot of seed plants where flowers are formed o ...

bearing two iris flowers. The flower has a long tubular throat which may exceed 5 centimeters in length before it opens into white, purple, or reddish-brown streaked

tepal A tepal is one of the outer parts of a flower (collectively the perianth). The term is used when these parts cannot easily be classified as either sepals or petals. This may be because the parts of the perianth are undifferentiated (i.e. of very ...

Subspecies

*''Iris tenuissima'' ssp. ''purdyiformis''—affinity to serpentine soil. *''Iris tenuissima'' ssp. ''tenuissima''

External links

Calflora Database: ''Iris tenuissima'' (longtube iris, slender iris)Jepson Manual eFlora (TJM2) treatment of ''Iris tenuissima''USDA Plants Profile for ''Iris tenuissima'' (longtube iris)Flora of North AmericaUC Photos gallery — ''Iris tenuissima''
tenuissima Endemic flora of California Flora of the Klamath Mountains Flora of the Sierra Nevada (United States) Natural history of the California chaparral and woodlands Natural history of the California Coast Ranges Flora without expected TNC conservation status {{iridaceae-stub