Bulb. Leaves 20-60 cm long, 2-5 mm wide, grey-green. Stem unbranched, 40-60 cm tall with sheathing bracts. Flowers 1-2, yellow to brown or blue-violet; spring. Perianth tube 1-3 mm long; falls 5-6 cm long with yellow signal, unwinged claw 7-10 mm wide; standards 5-6 cm long, blunt. Style branches oblong, completely hiding claws of falls. Syn. I. hispanica Steud.

W Mediterranean.

I. latifolia (Miller) Voss, English Iris from the Pyrenees is a bulbous species with leaves channelled, 5-9 mm wide, whitish above, grey-green below, appearing in late winter. Stem 30-65 cm tall. Flowers 2-3, 10 cm wide, pale blue to purple. Perianth tube 5 mm long; falls winged, with a gold signal; standards erect, oblanceolate. Late spring. Syn. I. xiphioides Ehrh.

I. tingitana Boiss. & Reuter from Morocco and Algeria is bulbous with stems to 1 m tall. Leaves tapered, arching, channelled, silvery-green to 60 cm long, 12 mm wide. Flowers 1-3, blue; early spring. Perianth tube 10-28 mm; falls to 7.5 cm with yellow signals. var. fontanesii (Godron) Maire Flowers later, with deeper violet-blue flowers.

Source: Cooke, D. (2005). Iridaceae. In: Spencer, R.. Horticultural Flora of South-eastern Australia. Volume 5. Flowering plants. Monocotyledons. The identification of garden and cultivated plants. University of New South Wales Press.