Iris chrysophylla

Yellow-flowered iris, Yellow-Flowered Iris

Family: Iridaceae · Type: perennial · Native

Yellow-flowered iris is a California native perennial found in the northern Klamath Ranges in northern Del Norte and northwest Siskiyou counties, growing in open conifer forest and roadbanks at elevations of 600 to 1,000 meters. Flowering from May to June, this plant produces pale cream-yellow to nearly white flowers with faint blue undertones and burgundy veining, featuring large sepals 4 to 8 centimeters long and 14 to 20 millimeters wide. Growing with an unbranched stem 1 to 12 centimeters tall, it emerges from a slender rhizome 2 to 5 millimeters in diameter. Its basal leaves are 4 to 7 millimeters wide, with 0 to 4 similar cauline leaves, and the flower's perianth tube is narrow and abruptly funnel-shaped, extending 45 to 90 millimeters long. The flower's intricate structure includes narrowly elliptic petals 4 to 6 centimeters long and style branches 35 to 60 millimeters with distinctive tongue-shaped stigmas.

Habitat: Uncommon. Open conifer forest, roadbanks

Bloom period: May-Jun

Elevation: 600-1000 m

Bioregions: KR (n Del Norte, nw Siskiyou cos.)

California counties: Humboldt, Del Norte, Siskiyou, Shasta, Trinity, Butte

Data from The California Species Project — 14,000+ California species with verified data from CNPS, CDFW, USFWS, Jepson eFlora, Cal-IPC, and more.