How to Find Out About South Carolina Irises

Hello Gardeners, I’m Amanda McNulty with Clemson Extension and Making It Grow. If you search Herbarium.org you’ll be transported to the website for the AC Moore Herbarium so beloved by Dr. John Nelson and his botanical friends. Select Plants from the drop down menu and at the next screen go to the SC Plant Atlas. I did that and then selected the letter I for Iris to see what irises had been collected in South Carolina and in what counties. Of the twenty-eight iris species native to North America, seven of them grow naturally here – a testament to the wonderful plant diversity we enjoy in South Carolina as you travel from the coast to the mountains. Here are the native iris that are documented as being collected in our state: Iris cristata,  Iris hexagona, Iris primatica, Iris tridenta, two varieities of Iris verna,   and Iris virginiana.