It’s been a very good year for Blue Flag Iris (Iris versicolor), such as this one and those in its colony:
It’s also been a good year for versicolor’s wild and wiry cousin, Slender Blue Flag (Iris prismatica), shown below,. Perhaps the abundance of these wild beauties is a result of our very wet spring.
The distribution of the slim cousin (prismatica) in Maine is described online by our Department of Agriculture, Conservation & Forestry as follows: “This rare plant has been documented from a total of 6 town(s) in the following county(ies): Sagadahoc, York.” I”ll have to report that slim usually is an annual sight here in Hancock County, if I can figure out how you make such reports.
(Images taken in Brooklin, Maine, on June 4 (versicolor) and 6 (prismatica), 2024.)