Copper iris (Iris fulva)

Features and Characteristics

Iris fulva is commonly called copper iris because of the unusual copper color of its flowers. It is a beardless, crestless iris (Louisiana Iris group) that is native to swamps and wetlands of the deep South and of the lower Mississippi Valley from Louisiana north to southeastern Missouri and southern Illinois. In Missouri, it is primarily found in bald cypress swamps, sloughs, ponds, ditches and swampy woodland areas in the southeastern corner of the State (Steyermark). It is often found growing and blooming in standing water in spring-flooded areas that typically dry up as the summer progresses. Terra cotta or copper colored irises appear in late spring atop flower scapes typically growing 2-3’ tall. Flowers are reportedly pollinated by hummingbirds. Sword-shaped, linear, bright green leaves. In New Orleans in March of 1821, John James Audubon painted a pair of parula warblers perching on the stem of a copper iris in a painting that became an entry in The Birds of North America.

Genus named for the Greek goddess of the rainbow.

Specific epithet means tawny for the flower color.