Mehrjährige Pflanze mit kräftigem, kriechendem und verzweigtem Rhizom und schwertförmigen Blättern. Im Frühling erscheinen auf etwa 80 cm hohen Stängeln die typischen Blüten mit violetten Hängeblättern und lilafarbenen Domblättern (bei der ursprünglichen Form; es gibt Züchtungen in vielen Farben). Iris is a genus of between 200-300 species of flowering plants with showy flowers which takes its name from the Greek word for a rainbow, referring to the wide variety of flower colors found among the many species. The genus is widely distributed throughout the north temperate zone. They are perennial herbs, growing from creeping rhizomes. They have long, erect, flowering stems, which may be simple or branched, solid or hollow, and flattened or have a circular cross-section. The rhizomatous species usually have 3-10 basal, sword-shaped leaves growing in dense clumps. The bulbous species have cylindrical basal leaves.
