Iris hartwegii
Hartweg's iris
(c) Brendan Black, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA) · licence
Family: Iridaceae · Type: Herb · Native
Iris hartwegii (Hartweg's iris) is a native California herb in the Iridaceae family, recognized by Short-tubed montane forest iris; lowest 2 stem bracts alternate & well-separated, not opposite/enclosing.
Hartweg's iris is a California native perennial found in Sierra Nevada mountain habitats at elevations of 900 to 2,400 meters. Flowering from April to June, this plant produces lavender to purple flowers with distinctive broad sepals 4 to 7 centimeters long and elegant, narrowly elliptic petals. Growing with unbranched stems up to 30 centimeters tall emerging from a thick rhizome 3 to 10 millimeters in diameter, it develops basal leaves 3 to 14 millimeters wide. Its leaves include 1 to 4 cauline leaves that are bract-like or similar to the basal leaves, with an inflorescence typically bearing 2 to 3 flowers. The flower's perianth tube is barrel-shaped, with style branches 31 to 45 millimeters long featuring distinctive triangular stigmas.
Identification and appearance
Key characters: Short-tubed montane forest iris; lowest 2 stem bracts alternate & well-separated, not opposite/enclosing
Habitat and range
California counties: San Bernardino, El Dorado, Tulare, Amador, Butte, Nevada, Tuolumne, Placer, Mariposa, Madera, Fresno, Del Norte, Plumas, Yuba, Sierra, Mono, Mendocino, Kern, Siskiyou, Riverside, Alpine, Calaveras, Shasta, Lake, Tehama, Santa Clara, Humboldt, Ventura
How to tell it apart
vs Dietes: Iris has broad petal-like style branches; Dietes has thread-like styles and flowers lasting only one day.; vs Canna: Iris has six-parted flowers with drooping sepals; Canna has asymmetric flowers with one petal-like stamen.; vs Hemerocallis: Iris has petal-like style branches opposite stamens; Hemerocallis has simple thread-like styles and six equal tepals.; vs Typha: Iris has showy six-parted flowers; Typha has dense brown cylindrical flower spikes (cattails).; vs Sisyrinchium: Iris has large flowers with drooping outer sepals; Sisyrinchium has small flat flowers with six equal tepals.
Frequently asked questions
Is Iris hartwegii native to California?
Yes. Iris hartwegii is native to California (recorded as native).
Where in California does Iris hartwegii grow?
Iris hartwegii occurs in San Bernardino, El Dorado, Tulare, Amador, Butte, Nevada, Tuolumne, Placer and other counties.
What plant family does Iris hartwegii belong to?
Iris hartwegii is in the Iridaceae family, genus Iris.
Related species
Other California species in the same genus, family, or bioregion.
Sources: Jepson eFlora · Index of California Plant Names · CalPhotos
Last updated 2026-10-07
Data from The California Species Project — 14,000+ California species with verified data from CNPS, CDFW, USFWS, Cal-IPC, and more.