Iris germanica (Bearded iris)

c. 1890

Historical Brendel Plant Models, Botany Department, University of Otago

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Bearded iris (Iris germanica), a native of Europe, was first recorded in New Zealand (according to George Malcolm Thomson) by Thomas Kirk in 1869. In New Zealand it flowers in November and there are many different cultivars of the species ranging in colour from jet black to bright purple to golden yellow.