Blue Iris needs ID
Joe Shaw (Wed, 07 Jun 2006 15:34:55 PDT)

Hi Gang,

Please let me know the identity of a wildflower I saw in New Mexico.

I was in New Mexico recently and found some lovely iris plants (native I
guess) near Las Vegas. The area is quite a desert, but on the road out of
town (Hwy 104, to the east of town) I found a lot of irises growing. They
were really pretty, pale-blue to white-blue.

They grew in clumps and when I dug down I could see they were bulb-type
irises. They grew alongside the road where water would collect from rains
and snow melt. I didn't see them anywhere else in New Mexico.

They were in full bloom on May 23, 2006. The elevation is about 6,500-7,000
ft (about 2,050 meters).

I just buried the bulbs and left but but I'll bet there will be lots of
seeds soon, as you leave Las Vegas; the bulbs were in patches here and there
for the first 3 miles after you leave the buildings behind. Sometimes they
were quite numerous, other times clumps were separated by 100 ft. or more.
They were on both sides of the road, but most numerous on the north side.

Cordially,

Joe
http://www.opuntiads.com/
Hot and not too humid in Houston today, about 93 F, no rain for about a
week.