Iris hartwegii subsp. australis

Family: Iridaceae · Type: perennial · Native

Southern iris is a California native perennial found in the eastern San Gabriel, San Bernardino, and San Jacinto Mountains in dry pine forest slopes at elevations of 1,200 to 2,300 meters. Flowering from May to June, this plant produces blue-violet to purple flowers with cream or white throats, typically appearing in pairs. Growing with short stems 8 to 30 centimeters tall, it emerges from a rhizome 6 to 8 millimeters in diameter. Its basal leaves are 7 to 10 millimeters wide, with a base that is generally pinkish in color. The flower has a distinctive barrel-shaped perianth tube 7 to 10 millimeters long, creating a unique profile among mountain irises.

Habitat: Common. Dry slopes in pine forest

Bloom period: May-Jun

Elevation: 1200-2300 m

Bioregions: e SnGb, SnBr, SnJt.

California counties: San Bernardino, Riverside, Mariposa

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