Iris virginica shrevei, commonly named, Iris shrevei, or the Southern Blue Flag Iris, is native to Missouri and found wild throughout Northern America. This perennial plant is 2-3 feet tall. This Southern Blue Flag Iris features violet blue flowers with falls that are crested with yellow and white. Unlike the species, the flowers of shrevei are fragrant. The flowering stalks are branched and up to 3' tall. Each stalk produces a few leafy bracts and 1-3 flowers. The violet-blue flowers are up to 3.5" across, are consisting of 3 sepals and 3 petals. The blooming period is late Spring to early Summer, and lasts about a month for a colony of plants, although individual blossoms are short-lived. It produces clumps of vertical evergreen leaves that are sword-shaped and up to 2.5' tall. These leaves are pale bluish green to green and up to 1" across near the base, with smooth margins and parallel veins. Each flower is replaced by an oblong capsule. This capsule is about 1.5-2" long and 0.5" across, and contains rows of tightly stacked seeds. The plant spreads by means of its modified stems, rhizomes, which are located below the soil surface. Hardiness zones 4-9, (-32øC/-25øF, -5øC/25øF) in Winter. The preference is wet to moist conditions, partial to full sun, and a rich organic, slightly acidic soil. In light shade, this plant often fails to flower, and it tends to decline in abundance if conditions become too dry.