Family: Iridaceae Juss.
Distribution: Southeastern Europe and southern part of Central Europe – from Austria and Czechia through Ukraine to Azerbaijan.
Ecology: It grows in rocky steppes and on grassy slopes, sandy or rocky hills, from lowlands to foothills. It blooms from April to May.
Description: Perennial herb with a rhizome, 10–15 cm tall. Stem erect, unbranched, only 1 cm long. Leaves 3–15 cm × 4–17 mm, straight or somewhat falcate. Flowers solitary, variable in colour – yellow, blue or purple, rarely white, spathes 50–100 mm, perianth segments dimorphic, the outer (falls) 35–60 × 12–20 mm, oblong-cuneate, the inner (standards) erect, 40–80 × 15–23 mm, oblong, with a distinct claw. Fruit is a capsule.
Threat and protection: This species is protected by law in Czechia, Slovakia, Hungary, Serbia and Russia.
Use: Iris pumila is a favorite rock garden plant.
These images were taken in Czechia, Moravia, Čejkovické Špidláky (April 11 and 25, 2003), and Moravia, Pouzdřanská step, Moravský Krumlov, Mikulov (April 2004).
