Iris laevigata (English spelling) Iris laevigata

...A perennial plant of the Iridaceae family that prefers wetlands (illustration). As the saying goes, "It's either iris or kakitsubata," the flowers look very similar to irises and bloom at roughly the same time (May to June). However, the two species are distinguished by their broad leaves, which grow to 1 to 3 cm (irises are less than 1 cm), and the pedicels of the flowers that are longer than the ovary. There is a poem about kakitsubata in the Manyoshu, and it has been known since ancient times. It seems that the flowers were also collected and rubbed onto cloth for dyeing. In Japan, the Japanese iris, which was bred from the wild iris, has been an important horticultural plant since the Edo period, and has evolved into a variety that can be proud of worldwide, but no notable horticultural varieties of kakitsubata or iris have been cultivated, except for white-flowered and other colored varieties and variegated varieties. ...

*Some of the terminology that mentions "Iris laevigata" is listed below.

Source | Heibonsha World Encyclopedia 2nd Edition | Information

…水湿地を好むアヤメ科の多年草（イラスト）。〈いずれアヤメかカキツバタ〉といわれるようにアヤメにすこぶるよく似た花を，ほぼ同じ時期(5～6月)に咲かせる。しかし葉が幅広く1～3cmになり(アヤメは1cm以下)，花の小花梗が子房よりも長い点で両種は区別される。《万葉集》にもカキツバタを詠んだ歌があり，古くから知られていた。花を集め布にすりつけて染めることもあったらしい。日本では，ノハナショウブから品種改良されたハナショウブが江戸時代から重要な園芸植物として，世界的に誇りうる品種分化が進んだのに対し，カキツバタやアヤメは，白花などの色変り，斑入りなどの品種を除いては，見るべき園芸品種が育成されなかった。…

※「Iris laevigata」について言及している用語解説の一部を掲載しています。

出典｜株式会社平凡社世界大百科事典 第２版について | 情報