Iris Setosa Dissection

Iris setosa, Pall.
Iris setosa can be found throughout interior Alaska. These specimens from my neighborhood grew in disturbed soil along the roadside and bordering a spruce/hardwood forest. The plants can be very tall, up to a meter in height, with lanceolate leaves that have parallel venation and are alternately placed on the stem.
3 petals
3 sepals (they look like petals!)
3 stamens
dry dehiscent locullicidal capsule
axile placentation
1 carpel (?I think)
# of seeds: a lot! at least 3 dozen

One comment

  1. Thanks Lucia, this is a nice dissection of Alaska Flag. There are three carpels, if you look closely at the pistils (particularly in cross section – the axile placentation image) you can make out that the pistil is somewhat three-lobed due to the fact that three leaves (carpels) were fused, the juncture of fusion are the septa (of which there are three), and there are three locules as well, so three carpels for Iris setosa.

Comments are closed.