Blue Flag has large lobes that bees use as landing platforms and special markings directing bees to the nectar glands. Blue Flag also attracts bees and hummingbirds.īlue Flag plants are pollinated by bees and, like other plant species pollinated by bees, have evolved special types of flowers that are easy for bees to find. Several non-pollinating nectar feeders are frequent flower visitors, including Harris Checkerspot and Hobomok Skipper. Blue Flag on the wet meadow at the Marcy Field trailhead, Essex County, NY (3 June 2022).īlue Flag has limited value as a food source for wildlife. Wildlife Value of Blue FlagĪdirondack Wildflowers: Blue Flag has large lobes that bees use as landing platforms and special markings directing bees to the nectar glands. Powdered iris root has also been added to perfume and potpourri. In addition, some native Americans reportedly used the two outermost fibers of the leaves to spin twine. Although Blue Flag is poisonous, Native Americans and colonists dried the rhizome of the plant and used it in small amounts as a cathartic and diuretic. In the past, Blue Flag was a popular medicinal plant among some native American groups. Contact with the plant can also cause skin irritations in some people. The roots are particularly toxic and can cause nausea and vomiting. Uses of Blue Flagīlue Flag is considered to be poisonous if ingested. The fruit of Blue Flag is a three-celled capsule about 1½ inches long and ¾ inch in diameter. The pattern of bloom dates from iNaturalist's Adirondack Park observations suggest that Blue Flag has been flowering in recent years from mid-June to mid-July.A tally of flowering dates for the upland Adirondack areas compiled by Michael Kudish, based on data collected from the early seventies to the early nineties, lists 16 June as the earliest date of flowering and 27 June as the median date.The flowers are 2½ to 4 inches wide.īlue Flag flowers in early summer in the Adirondacks. The down-curved violet sepals Sepals: The parts that look like little green leaves and cover the outside of a flower bud to protect the flower before it opens. and appear to be folded at the center.īlue Flag produces several striking, violet-blue flowers. The arrangement of veins in a leaf is called the venation pattern. The leaves have veins Vein: A vessel that conducts nutrients, sugars, and other substances throughout plant tissues usually associated with leaves. Rhizomes are also called creeping rootstalks and rootstocks. , emerging from large, creeping rhizomes Rhizome: The modified subterranean stem of a plant that sends out roots and shoots from its nodes. The sword-like leaves are basal Basal: Leaves are confined to the base of the stem. Blue Flag ( Iris versicolor) blooming in the wetland area bordering the pond at John Brown Farm (13 July 2019).īlue Flag grows about 2-3 feet tall with long, narrow leaves (½ to 1 inch wide) of bluish green. Wildflowers of the Adirondacks: Blue Flag produces showy violet-blue flowers in early summer.
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