Iris chrysophylla, Oregon field trip. (Elyse Hill; May, 1993)
Range: Midwestern and southern Oregon west of Cascades, south to the crest of the Siskiyou Mountains in northern California; up to around 5,500 feet elevation.
Original material: Grant's Pass, Josephine County, Oregon 1887
Key identifying features:
1. Long, narrow floral tube (2 to 4 inches), slightly swollen only at top
2. Broad spathes, enclosing floral tube
3. Style crests very long and narrow, only slightly bent upward
4. Standards often spread outward
5. Thin, fragile-looking cream color flowers, with reddish-brown veins
6. Slender, light green leaves, with reddish pigment toward base
Flower color: Creamy white to pale yellow, with dark golden or reddish-brown veins.
Habitat: Roadbanks, meadows and similar exposed, sunny sites in pine/fir woodlands.
Comment: Delicate white to pale yellow flowers with narrow parts and long, slender style crests show the close kinship of this iris with I. tenuissima in the long floral tube group of PCNIs. Unlike that species, I. chrysophylla lacks a distinctively dilated floral tube.