Iridaceae or the Iris family is a worldwide diverse group found in mostly temperate regions of perennial evergreen or deciduous herbs with roots usually from underground rhizomes, bulbs or corms. This family belongs to the order Asparagales. Plants with simple leaves with parallel veins are mostly arranged in a fan arising from the rootstock or stem. Stems are simple or branching and are associated with bracts. The bisexual brightly colored flowers usually have 6 showy tepals, 3 stamens and an inferior 3 chambered ovary and are long-lasting or short-lived. Many are intricately adapted to attract pollinators, provide landing stages, and reward them with pollen, nectar or oils. The largest number of genera and species occurs in Africa and another area with many genera is Central and South America. The reference book that outlines the characteristics of this family, the natural history, and evolution as well as the most recent classification system, The Iris Family: Natural History and Classification was published in 2008 and was written by Peter Goldblatt and John C. Manning. These authors followed this book up in 2020 with Iridaceae of southern Africa, a complete taxonomic treatment for Iridaceae in southern Africa (Botswana, Lesotho, Namibia, South Africa and Eswatini). It treats 1,210 species in 36 genera. An earlier reference book on this family, The World of Iridaceae: a comprehensive record, was written by Clive Innes in 1985. Many of the names have changed in the meantime, but it did attempt to cover world wide species.
Additional photos of plants in this family can be found on the SIGNA species database.