Iris versicolor Variegata - Water Iris

Iris versicolor 'Variegata' is a remarkably sculptural variety with variegated foliage. This beautiful perennial for wet areas bears stylised blue-violet flowers with dark violet veins, dotted with white at the base. Its beautiful green foliage is striped with cream, and is gathered in dense tufts. A very hardy perennial, which slowly spreads to form beautiful colonies. It is ideal for ornamenting water points and sunny beds, in moist soil or under humid climates.

Iris versicolor is a deciduous herbaceous perennial plant with trailing rhizomes. It belongs to the Iridaceae family, native to wet to waterlogged areas from southeastern Canada to Virginia. It is common in carex meadows, marshes, and along riverbanks. The plant forms initially erect and then spreading dense tufts, 60 to 90cm (24 to 35in) tall, which spread laterally without theoretical limit. Its long lanceolate leaves, shaped like a sword, are folded along the central vein. They are entirely striped with white-cream and often tinged with red at the base. Flowering takes place in spring, from May to July. Elongated stems emerge from the foliage. Sometimes branched at their tip, they bear 3 to 5 flowers, 5 to 7cm (2 to 3in) in diameter, and are quite flat. Each one, forming a sort of cross, is composed of 6 floral parts: 3 narrow and spatulate petaloid styles surmount 3 horizontal petals, much wider and well separated. These nectar-rich and honey-bearing flowers only live for 48 hours, but they are vividly and sumptuously coloured, and formed abundantly on well-established plants. They have a light powdery fragrance typical of irises but less pronounced than in Iris germanica. The fruit is a capsule that opens into 3 chambers containing seeds that are dispersed by water.

With its long vertical and variegated leaves and its striking flowers, it brings height and structure to beds. It is easily cultivated and can be planted in large masses or in small patches (which will widen), on humid riverbanks, or even in large perforated pots whose base will be submerged in a basin. It can also be integrated into beds of perennials that also appreciate consistently moist soil: willows, carex, gorse, marsh spurge, persicarias, eupatoriums, or the magnificent Caffre lily (Schizostylis coccinea 'Major'), which blooms in late summer.

This iris, the official floral emblem of Quebec, is also a medicinal plant with proven properties, widely used in homeopathy and phytotherapy to relieve heartburn and ophthalmic migraines. Its use is strictly reserved for professionals.