Name: Iridaceae
Meaning of Name:
Iridaceae, from Ancient Greek Ἶρις (Îris, ‘the messenger of the gods’, ‘a rainbow’; named for Iris, a Greek goddess who carried messages to Earth from Olympus via a rainbow, i.e. a reference to the range of petal colours many species in this family have) + Latin -āceae (the feminine plural of -āceus, ‘resembling’, a suffix used to form the taxonomic family names of plants, algae, bacteria, and fungi)
Common Name:
The iris family
Botanical Information:
Iridaceae, or the iris family, contains 69 genera and about 2,500 species. Well-known genera of this family include Iris (the largest), Gladiolus, Freesia, and Crocus. Many species of Iridaceae have economic value as ornamentals. Saffron, a crocus, has especial value as a spice.
All members of Iridaceae are perennial with erect, grass-like foliage, and have either a bulb, corm or rhizome. Many are deciduous and enter dormancy where climates have very cold and/or dry periods. Evergreen species are found in more favourable year-round climates such as temperate grasslands and subtropical forests.
The genus Iris is the type genus, or the one which defines a biological family and which gives the family its name.
Nowadays the Iridaceae family is defined phylogenetically by seven subfamilies: Aristeoideae, Crocoideae, Geosiridoideae, Iridoideae, Isophysidoideae, Nivenioideae, and Patersonioideae.
The photo chosen to illustrate this family shows the flower of a Bearded Iris (Iris × germanica).
Image copyright © Optimate Group Pty Ltd
