In this photo, three flowering stems are shown in the foreground, two to left and one to right. Photo 2: With aerial growth, leafy vegetative stems and reproductive flowering stems become distinguishable. Rhizomes do not produce new growth after the second year, but they persist so that thick mats may develop. A rhizome may produce several to as many as eight aerial stem growth points (apically and laterally) along with several new rhizome growth points (apically, after culmination of vegetative growth) that form new underground branches. All vegetative growth, both above and below ground, originates from the rhizomes. Bracts mostly hide the light yellow epidermis of the rhizome the solid tough rhizome interior is also light yellow. The base of each bract inscribes a growth ring around the rhizome. The prominent segments of these underground stems are modified nodes, tightly covered by persistent brown, scarious (papery) bracts, which are themselves modified leaves. Crested iris rhizomes alternate between thin and swollen sections. Roots of crested iris emerge from thick, horizontal, underground stems called rhizomes that grow just beneath or at the surface of the soil. Preferred habitat is well-drained, mesic, sandy to rocky, fertile soils in partially sunny woodlands. The specific epithet, from the Latin meaning ‘crested,’ refers to the flower’s distinctive crests (see below). The genus name is for Iris, the Greek goddess who personifies the rainbow. In Arkansas, the species occurs across the Ozark Plateaus, Arkansas Valley and Ouachita Mountains. In the U.S., it occurs from Oklahoma, Arkansas and Missouri east to Atlantic Coastal states. Crested iris or dwarf crested iris ( Iris cristata) of the Iris (Iridaceae) family is a low-growing iris that produces light blue flowers in early spring.
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