Iris (Blue Flag) – Bulbs (set of 5)

Irises are either bulbous or rhizomatous (with thick creeping underground stems). In species with a rhizome, the stem is usually horizontal, robust, and ringed with leaf scars. It often grows partially exposed but is firmly rooted in the soil. Species of Iris native to southwestern Europe generally produce bulbs. This type of stem is short and conical, and from it many leaf bases arise, one inside the other. These bases are seamless and constitute the bulk of the bulb. Bulblets arise from the stem, between the leaf bases, to propagate the plant.

The flowers commonly possess three sepals, three petals, and three broad pollen-receptive stigma branches, under which the pollen-producing anthers are hidden. Of the six petal-like floral segments in irises, the more erect inner ones are called standards and the usually drooping outer ones are called falls. These flower parts are located above the ovary (inferior ovary), which consists of three carpels unified into a single pistil. Ovules within the ovary portion become seeds, and the ovary matures into dry capsule fruits.