Pale Yellow Iris Iris pseudacorus LinnaeusNon-native  -  Invasive    Synonyms: Water Flag.
Kingdom Plantae   >   Division Tracheophyta   >   Class Magnoliopsida   >   Order Liliales   >   Family Iridaceae   >   Genus Iris   

Status:

Pale Yellow Iris is a non-native iris from Europe, and grows in wet areas. Brown and Brown (1984) reported it as an infrequent escape, known from Harford County. A few decades later, it had become the most abundant wetland iris in the Washington, D.C. region (J. Parrish and R. Simmons, pers. comm., March 2021). It greatly outnumbers the native wetland blue irises Virginia Iris and Harlequin Blueflag. Pale Yellow Iris is an invasive species in Maryland (MISC 2022).

Where to find:

Wet areas, such as marshes and streamsides. To make a positive identification, it is best to visit wetlands in May (J. Parrish, pers. comm.)

There are 157 records in the project database.

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Pale Yellow Iris blooming in Dorchester Co., Maryland (6/25/2013). Photo by Jim Brighton. (MBP list)

Pale Yellow Iris in Worcester Co., Maryland (5/28/2015). Photo by Jim Stasz. (MBP list)

Pale Yellow Iris blooming in Anne Arundel Co., Maryland (5/13/2011). Photo by Bill Harms. (MBP list)

Pale Yellow Iris in Anne Arundel Co., Maryland (5/7/2011). Photo by Bill Harms. (MBP list)

Pale Yellow Iris blooming in Allegany Co., Maryland (6/8/2015). Photo by Kimberly Booth. (MBP list)

Pale Yellow Iris blooming in Montgomery Co., Maryland (5/19/2015). Photo by Fritz Flohr Reynolds. (MBP list)

Pale Yellow Iris in Kent Co., Maryland (5/23/2014). Photo by Nancy Martin. (MBP list)

Pale Yellow Iris in Caroline Co., Maryland (5/2/2017). Photo by Wayne Longbottom. (MBP list)

Pale Yellow Iris in Somerset Co., Maryland (6/1/2020). Photo by Tom Feild. (MBP list)

Pale Yellow Iris in Howard Co., Maryland (5/24/2016). Photo by Jim Wilkinson. (MBP list)

Pale Yellow Iris blooming in Harford Co., Maryland (5/28/2018). Photo by Josh Emm. (MBP list)


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MBP marks as "Invasive" any taxon listed in the Maryland Invasive Species Council (MISC) list of Invasive Species of Concern in Maryland. You can read their criteria and review the lists here: https://mdinvasives.org/species-of-concern/.