Iris nelsonii facts for kids

The Iris nelsonii is a beautiful type of iris flower. It belongs to a group called hexagonae and is known for spreading out using underground stems called rhizomes. This plant is a perennial, meaning it grows back year after year. You can find it in North America, especially in Louisiana. It has long, drooping leaves that look like grass, tall stems, and pretty red-purple flowers.

What the Iris Nelsonii Looks Like

The Iris nelsonii spreads out to form big groups of plants using its rhizomes. These are like underground stems that help the plant grow and spread.

Its leaves are long and narrow, like grass. They are green but can sometimes look a bit grayish-blue (this is called glaucous). They usually droop downwards and can grow up to 80–90 cm (about 3 feet) long. However, they don't grow as tall as the flower stems.

The flower stems are quite tall, reaching about 70–110 cm (28–43 inches) high. Each stem can have 2 to 4 branches.

This iris usually blooms between April and May. In the UK, it blooms a bit later, in June. Each plant can have up to 10 flowers, and each flower is quite large, about 4–5 inches across.

The flowers come in many shades of red-purple, bright red, or even brown. Sometimes, you might find rare yellow ones, which are often called 'Abbeville yellows'.

The flowers often droop or spread out. They usually have two flower buds at the very top of the stem, and sometimes two buds together on the side stalks. Many flowers also have a bright spot on their petals, which is like a "signal" to pollinators.

After the flowers bloom, the iris grows a seed pod. This pod is shaped like a capsule and gets narrower at both ends.

The Story Behind Its Name

This iris has a few common names, like 'Abbeville red iris', 'Abbeville swamp iris', or sometimes 'Nelson's iris'.

It was first found in the late 1930s by a person named W. B. Macmillan. He discovered it near a town called Abbeville in Louisiana, USA.

In 1958, Charles W. Arny Jr., who was good at creating new types of Louisiana irises, wrote about how important this 'Abbeville Iris' was. He mentioned how it could be used to make new hybrid flowers.

The Iris nelsonii was officially named and described in 1966 by Randolph. He had worked with Ira S. "Ike" Nelson, a professor, since 1942. Randolph decided to name this new iris after his friend, Ira Nelson.

The RHS (a well-known gardening organization) also recognizes Iris nelsonii as a proper name.

Where the Iris Nelsonii Lives

The Iris nelsonii is a native plant to North America. This means it naturally grows there.

It can only be found in one specific place: the Abbeville swamp in Louisiana, in the southeastern part of the United States.

This iris lives in a swamp that is privately owned. The swamp has Cypress and tupelo gum trees, with forests around the edges. The water levels in this swamp change a lot.

Over the years, the water levels in the swamp have changed. This is probably because of farming and changes made to waterways to help with drainage. These changes have reduced the amount of water in the swamp. Most Iris nelsonii plants now grow in ditches and along the banks of waterways, though some are still in the middle of the swamp.

Protecting the Iris Nelsonii

Because the Iris nelsonii only grows in one small swamp, which is privately owned, it's quite rare. To help protect it and allow people to see it, some plants have been moved to Palmetto Island State Park. This gives them a safe place to live.

The iris faces several threats where it naturally grows. These include new homes and businesses being built, trees being cut down, too many plants being collected from the wild, and especially farming. Farming can change its habitat and use up a lot of water.

Natural threats like hurricanes can also cause saltwater to enter the swamp. This is made worse by coastal erosion, which further endangers the iris plants.

How the Iris Nelsonii Was Created (Hybrid Origin)

In 1938, scientists noticed that two other iris species, Iris fulva and Iris hexagona, naturally mixed together. This mixing led to the group of plants known as 'Abbeville Reds'.

When Randolph described Iris nelsonii in 1966, he thought it might have come from a mix of different irises. This was because of how its chromosomes and body parts looked.

Later, in 1993, a scientist named Michael L. Arnold studied Iris nelsonii using special DNA tests. He found that this iris is indeed a hybrid, meaning it's a mix of three different Louisiana iris species: Iris brevicaulis, Iris fulva, and Iris hexagona.

The study showed that most of Iris nelsoniis genetic information comes from Iris fulva. However, it still has parts from all three parent species. For example, Iris nelsoniis underground stems, leaves, and flowers are much bigger than those of Iris brevicaulis and Iris fulva. They are similar in size to Iris hexagona.

The flowers of Iris nelsonii and Iris fulva are red and are mainly pollinated by hummingbirds. But the flowers of Iris brevicaulis and Iris hexagona are blue and are mainly pollinated by bees. This suggests that even small parts of the Iris hexagona and Iris brevicaulis genes might have helped Iris nelsonii adapt to its environment.

It's quite rare for a plant to be a hybrid of three different parent species!

Growing the Iris Nelsonii

Most Louisiana irises, including Iris nelsonii, need similar things to grow well. They like lots of sunlight and soil that is moist and a bit acidic (around pH 6.5). The soil should also have plenty of rich, organic material. For the best flowers, the plant needs lots of moisture in late autumn, winter, and spring, which is when it starts to grow.

You can plant them along the edges of ponds and pools. You can even plant them in the water, but you'll need to pin their rhizomes down so they don't float away.

The easiest way to grow more of these irises is by dividing their rhizomes. This is best done in late summer when the plants are resting (dormant). Before planting, you should prepare the ground by adding a good amount of organic material and digging the soil about 6 inches deep. This helps new roots grow. To keep the plants flowering well, you should divide them every 3–4 years. They can grow with other plants but tend to move to spots they like best. If you use fertilizer, sprinkle it around the plant in late January or February, before the flowers appear.

It's not too hard to grow irises from seed, but it takes many years for the seeds to sprout. Then, it takes another 3–5 years before the plants will produce flowers.

This iris can handle cold weather and is considered hardy in USDA Zones 7 to 11. It might even survive in Zones 5 or 6 if it has some protection in winter. It can handle frost but won't flower well in places with cool summers. You can grow Iris nelsonii in southern UK if the soil is damp or wet.

How the Iris Nelsonii Gets Pollinated

Because Iris nelsonii is a hybrid, scientists have studied its pollination very closely. They found that the most common visitor to this iris is the ruby-throated hummingbird. Other visitors include butterflies, wasps, and different types of bees.

Scientists noticed that when a hummingbird first visited an Iris nelsonii flower to collect pollen, it would then visit another Iris nelsonii flower much more often than expected. This shows that hummingbirds tend to stick to one type of flower once they start visiting it. This "flower constancy" might help keep Iris nelsonii separate from other iris species when it comes to reproduction.

Hummingbirds can easily move pollen between different iris species. So, even though the flowers look different, it's not the physical differences that stop them from mixing. Instead, it's the pollinators themselves that help keep the species separate.

Further research found that some hybrid flowers can be just as attractive to pollinators as the original species. Also, Iris brevicaulis and Iris hexagona are mainly pollinated by bumblebees, while Iris fulva is mainly pollinated by hummingbirds.

Iris Nelsonii Hybrids

Plant breeders have used Iris nelsonii to create new hybrid irises by crossing it with other types, such as Iris pseudacorus, Iris spuria, Iris versicolor, and Iris virginica.