Floriferous and resilient, Iris tenax (Toughleaf Iris) is a slowly spreading rhizomatous evergreen perennial forming large, attractive clumps of tough, grass-like, light green leaves. In mid-spring to early summer, a profusion of purple to lavender-blue flowers, 3-5 in. wide (7-12 cm), often with yellow and white marking on the falls, appear ...

Iris tenax ssp. tenax has purple, lavender, yellow, or creamy white to rarely white flowers. The sepals are widely spreading and arching downward with veins a darker shade of the color of the sepal and a light yellow ridge. The petals are the same color as …

Iris tenax is a species of Iris, known by the common names tough-leaved iris, Oregon iris, or more colloquially, flag. It is native to southwestern Washington, western Oregon, and northwestern California. It occurs along roadsides and in grasslands …

Scientific Name: Iris tenax; Family: Iridaceae; Common Names: Oregon flag, tough-leaf iris; Codon: IRITEN

Grows in open forests and grassy meadows at low to mid elevations between 300-1600 ft (100-500 m). Growing Conditions: full sun to partial shade, very adaptable, tolerating moist to dry soil. Iris tenax is also called tough-leaf iris, getting this name from …

Best known for its attractive blue flowers in the spring, Oregon Iris is a native to the Northwest marsh. Also known as Tough-leaf Iris. Plants form dense, compact clumps with narrow, light green leaves growing taller than the numerous flower stalks. They …

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Iris tenax Toughleaf Iris. Erect flower stems shorter than grass-like leaves. Leaves bright green with red to pink base, deciduous, to 14 inches tall in tight cluster. Flowers usually blue to deep purple, sometimes white to cream.

Iris tenax is one of the most common of the Pacific Coast Iris growing in our maritime Northwest region, and one of the prettiest. Yet its epithet tenax, which means tough, testifies to its holding power.

It was described in 1958 as a distinct subspecies - I. tenax klamathensis. The funnel-shaped floral tube is longer (around ½ to ¾ inch), flower color is limited to pale cream or light yellow with a yellow eye spot on the petals and reddish-brown veins, and it lives in more shaded habitats than the I. tenax populations farther north.