Japanese iris
Iris ensata Thunb.
- light
- Full sun
- water
- Plenty
- tall
- 79 cm
- wide
- 53 cm
Iridaceae
Formerly Iris kaempferi, Limniris ensata
When it flowers
JFMAMJJASOND
Not known yet in the tropics: too few flowering observations to read a season from.
PetsNo pet-safety information yet
PeopleNC State Extension lists it as mildly poisonous (roots, sap, seeds) (25 Oct 2026)
If a child, a pet or anyone may have eaten a plant, contact a doctor or vet straight away, or call the National Poisons Information Centre (AIIMS, New Delhi) on 1800 116 117, free and open 24 hours.
Something wrong with it?About it
- Grows as
- Rhizomatous geophyte or helophyteKew's checklist, not yet checked
- Climate
- TemperateKew's checklist, not yet checked
- Wild in
- SE. Siberia to JapanKew's checklist, not yet checked
- Light
- Full sun (6 h or more)Read from NC State Extension, one source
- Height
- 79 cmRead from NC State Extension and Wikipedia, checked by a majority of its sourcesBacked by both sources. Sources differ: NC State Extension 2–4 ft; Wikipedia 80–80 cm
- Spread
- 46 cm to 61 cmRead from NC State Extension, one source
- Water
- Plenty: wet or constantly moistRead from NC State Extension and Wikipedia, checked by a majority of its sourcesBacked by both sources
- Flowers
- Purple, blueRead from NC State Extension and Wikipedia, checked by a majority of its sourcesBacked by both sources. Sources differ: NC State Extension blue, pink, purple, white; Wikipedia blue, purple, yellow
- Coldest it survives
- -27.2 °C (USDA zone 5a)Read from NC State Extension and Wikipedia, checked: the middle of what its sources sayHalfway between its 2 sources, which differ. Sources differ: NC State Extension -34.4 °C; Wikipedia -20 °C
Not known yet: heat, hottest it survives.
In other languages (4)
- Chinese
- 玉蝉花, 扁蒲扇, 花菖蒲
- Simplified Chinese
- 东北鸢尾, 紫花鸢尾, 玉蝉花
- Slovenian
- japonska perunika
- Welsh
- gellesgen Japan
Where this comes from
- Wikidata, read 2026-10-25, CC0-1.0
- Kew's checklist, read 2026-10-24, CC-BY-4.0
- NC State Extension, read 2026-10-25, fact, cited
- Wikipedia, read 2026-10-25, fact, cited
- Wikimedia Commons, read 2026-10-25, CC BY-SA 2.0
- 3D model: Iris ensata (built for Vanagrha) by Vanagrha, own
A fact “checked by a majority of its sources” was settled by a vote of the pages it was read from, not by a person reading it; one marked “one source” rests on that page alone. Anything else not marked checked has not been checked yet. Where nothing is known, the page says so rather than guess.