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native plant database: Iris versicolor L. Harlequin blueflag,
Northern blue flag USDA Symbol: irve2 USDA Native Status: Native
to U.S. A graceful, sword-leaved plant similar to the garden
iris, with showy, down-curved, violet, boldly veined sepals.
Several violet-blue flowers with attractively veined and yellow-
based sepals are on a sturdy stalk among tall sword-like leaves
that rise from a basal cluster. Flowers may be any shade of
purple, but are always decorated with yellow on the falls. Grows
2-3 ft. tall. This is a showy native iris of northeastern
wetlands. Insects attracted to the sepals must crawl under the
tip of a style and brush past a stigma and stamen, thus
facilitating pollination. A similar southern wetland species,
occurring from Virginia to Florida and Texas, is Southern
Blueflag (I. virginica). It is a smaller pl