''Iris unguicularis'' ( syn. ''Iris stylosa''), the Algerian iris, is a

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 ...

flowering plant in the

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...

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 ent ...

'',

native Native may refer to: People * Jus soli, citizenship by right of birth * Indigenous peoples, peoples with a set of specific rights based on their historical ties to a particular territory ** Native Americans (disambiguation) In arts and entert ...

to Greece, Turkey, Western Syria, and Tunisia. It grows to , with grassy evergreen leaves, producing pale lilac or purple flowers with a central band of yellow on the falls. The flowers appear in winter and early spring. They are fragrant, with pronounced

perianth The perianth (perigonium, perigon or perigone in monocots) is the non-reproductive part of the flower, and structure that forms an envelope surrounding the sexual organs, consisting of the calyx (sepals) and the corolla (petals) or tepals when ...

tubes up to long. This plant is widely cultivated in

temperate In geography, the temperate climates of Earth occur in the middle latitudes (23.5° to 66.5° N/S of Equator), which span between the tropics and the polar regions of Earth. These zones generally have wider temperature ranges throughout t ...

regions, and numerous

cultivars A cultivar is a type of Horticulture, cultivated plant that people have selected for desired phenotypic trait, traits and when Plant propagation, propagated retain those traits. Methods used to propagate cultivars include: division, root and st ...

have been selected for garden use, including a slightly more tender white form 'Alba', and a

dwarf Dwarf or dwarves may refer to: Common uses *Dwarf (folklore), a being from Germanic mythology and folklore * Dwarf, a person or animal with dwarfism Arts, entertainment, and media Fictional entities * Dwarf (''Dungeons & Dragons''), a humanoid ...

variety ''I. unguicularis'' subsp. ''cretensis''. The cultivar 'Mary Barnard' has gained the

Royal Horticultural Society The Royal Horticultural Society (RHS), founded in 1804 as the Horticultural Society of London, is the UK's leading gardening charity. The RHS promotes horticulture through its five gardens at Wisley (Surrey), Hyde Hall (Essex), Harlow Carr (Nort ...

Award of Garden Merit The Award of Garden Merit (AGM) is a long-established annual award for plants by the British Royal Horticultural Society (RHS). It is based on assessment of the plants' performance under UK growing conditions. History The Award of Garden Merit ...

Chemistry

In 2013, a chemical analysis study was carried on '' Iris loczyi'' and ''Iris unguicularis'' as both plants are known as medicinally important. The rhizome of ''Iris unguicularis'' contains 1,3-O-diferuloylsucrose, 5,7-dihydroxy-6-methoxychromone, irilone, 4′,5,7-trihydroxy-6-methoxyflavanone,

tectorigenin Tectorigenin is an O-methylated isoflavone, a type of flavonoid. It can be isolated from leopard lily (''Belamcanda chinensis''), in ''Iris unguicularis'' or '' Pueraria thunbergiana''. Glycosides Tectoridin Tectoridin is an isoflavone Isofla ...

kaempferol Kaempferol (3,4′,5,7-tetrahydroxyflavone) is a natural flavonol, a type of flavonoid, found in a variety of plants and plant-derived foods including kale, beans, tea, spinach, and broccoli. Kaempferol is a yellow crystalline solid with a meltin ...

, 4′,5,7-trihydroxy-3′,8-dimethoxyflavanone, 8-methoxyeriodictyol,

hispidulin Hispidulin is a naturally occurring flavone with potential antiepileptic activity in rats and gerbils.The flavone hispidulin, a benzodiazepine receptor ligand with positive allosteric properties, traverses the blood–brain barrier and exhibits an ...

and

mangiferin Mangiferin is a glucosylxanthone (xanthonoid). This molecule is a glucoside of norathyriol. Natural occurrences Mangiferin was first isolated from the leaves and bark of ''Mangifera indica'' (the mango tree). It can also be extracted from ...

.New and Known Constituents from Iris unguicularis and Their Antioxidant Activity. Atta-ur-Rahman, Sumaira Hareem, M. Iqbal Choudhary, Bilge Sener, Ahmed Abbaskhan, Hina Siddiqui, Shazia Anjum, Ilkay Orhan, Ilhan Gurbuz and Filiz Ayanoglu, HeteroCycles, 2010, Special issue, Vol 82, No. 1, pages 813-824,

References

unguicularis Plants described in 1789 Flora of Lebanon {{Iridaceae-stub