Medicinal Monday - Iris Versicolor - The Beauty of Blue

One of the most attractive flowers growing in swamps and wetland areas in Connecticut and throughout eastern and central North America and Canada is Iris Versicolor. The striking blue flowers with their yellow stripes and sword-like upright foliage make this plant stand out amid green ferns and skunk cabbage. Native American communities found a myriad of interesting medicinal uses for this plant that most of us consider ornamental today.

About Iris versicolor

This perennial is native to North America and is found in meadows, marshes, wetlands, river and stream banks, near ponds and lakes, and by the shore. It grows up to 31 inches high and spreads from thick, creeping rhizomes. The stems are erect and the leaves form an overlapping fan. The flower blooms from May through July and has six petals and sepals that have a greenish-yellow blotch at their base. The flowers are a striking blue or purple. The fruit is a three-celled angled capsule and the large seeds of this flower can be seen floating in the fall.

Medicinal Uses

Iris was a frequently used remedy by Native Americans. The Algonquins and Chippewa made a poultice of the dried roots and treated burns, swellings, and wounds with the mixture. The Cree, Hudson Bay, and the Creek use the plant as a cathartic and bowel remedy. Delaware and Delaware Oklahoma used the roots to treat rheumatism. The Iroquois crushed the rhizomes, mashed them, and applied them to an affected area to treat blood poisoning. The Malecite uses a combination of this plant and bulrushes as a gargle for sore throats. The Mohegan and the Montagnais mix the poultice of the pulverized root with flour and take it to treat pain. The Ojibwa takes a decoction of the root as a quick emetic. The Omaha and Ponca pulverize the roots, mix them with water or saliva and put it in a sore ear to treat earaches. The Penobscot made an infusion of the plant to treat cholera. They also made herbal steam by boiling this plant and infused their home with this steam to keep disease away in general. The Meskwakis used the roots as a decoction for cold and lung problems.

Fruits and Seeds

Did You Know...

The iris is the official state flower of Tennessee.

This plant is also known as blue flag, harlequin, poison flag, and northern blue flag.

The Iris versicolor is the provincial flower of Quebec, having replaced the Madonna lily which was not native to the province.

The fresh Iris is quite acrid and if taken it produces nausea, vomiting, and purging. The dried root is less acrid and many Native American communities used it as an emetic, diuretic and cathartic.