Iris is a genus with 200-300 species of flowering plants. They are showy flowers which got its name from the Greek word for "rainbow." This genus also has a wide array of flower colors. The term iris is used as a common name and also refers to all iris species and related genera. This genus is widely distributed throughout the north temperate zone. It thrives in cold regions as well as in grassy slopes, meadowlands, stream banks, and deserts of Europe, the Middle East, northern Africa, Asia, and
across North America.
Accordingly, Iris are perennial herbs that rise from rhizomes and bulbs. These species possess long, erect, flowering stems which may be simple or branched, solid or hollow, and flattened or have a circular cross-section. Rhizomatous species have 3-10 basal, sword-shaped leaves growing in dense clumps. However, the bulbous species have cylindrical basal leaves. Inflorescences of Iris are fan-shaped and contains one or more symmetrical, six-lobed, slightly fragrant flowers. They grow on a pedicel or lack a footstalk, and the three sepals are spreading or droop downwards. They expand from their narrow base into a broader limb, often adorned with lines or dots. They are sometimes reduced, while petals stand upright, partly behind the sepal bases. Smaller species possess all six lobes pointing straight outwards. Their sepals and the petals differ from each other. They are connected at their base into a
floral tube that lies above the ovary. Their styles divide towards the apex into petaloid branches.
