''Iris tenax'' 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 names tough-leaved iris, Oregon iris, or more colloquially, flag.

Distribution

It is native to southwestern

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered on ...

, western

Oregon Oregon () is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of it ...

, and northwestern

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 ...

. It occurs along roadsides and in grasslands and forest openings at low to middle elevations. The subspecies ''Iris tenax'' ssp. ''klamathensis'' 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 ...

to northern

in the

Klamath Mountains The Klamath Mountains are a rugged and lightly populated mountain range in northwestern California and southwestern Oregon in the western United States. As a mountain system within both the greater Pacific Coast Ranges and the California Coast R ...

Description

Like many irises, ''Iris tenax'' has large and showy flowers. The flowers bloom in mid to late spring and are usually lavender-blue to purple, but blooms in white, yellow, pink, and orchid shades are known to sometimes occur. The leaves are very slender for an iris, seldom over 5 mm broad; the plant is often mistaken for a type of

grass Poaceae () or Gramineae () is a large and nearly ubiquitous family of monocotyledonous flowering plants commonly known as grasses. It includes the cereal grasses, bamboos and the grasses of natural grassland and species cultivated in lawns an ...

when not in bloom. Its

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 spread slowly, causing the plant to grow in a tight clump. Its species name ''(tenax)'' means "tough" or "tenacious" and is in reference to the strong, fibrous leaves of the plant, which were used by indigenous peoples for braiding into snares and other cordage.

References

*Hitchcock, Charles Leo and Cronquist, Arthur. ''Flora of the Pacific Northwest.'' University of Washington Press, . *Kozloff, Eugene N. ''Plants and Animals of the Pacific Northwest.'' . *Pojar, Jim and MacKinnon, Andy. ''Plants of Coastal British Columbia.'' Lone Pine Publishing, .

External links

Calflora Database: ''Iris tenax'' (toughleaf iris)
* {{Taxonbar, from=Q13638423

tenax Tenax is the brandname of Toho Tenax owned by Teijin for a carbon fiber. Tenax-7R is an adhesive particularly suited for welding plastic See also * Teijin * Toho Tenax Other uses Tenax is also a brand name for Poly(2,6-diphenylphenylene oxide) ...

Flora of British Columbia Flora of California Flora of Oregon Flora of Washington (state) Flora of the Klamath Mountains Flora without expected TNC conservation status