Rabbitear Iris
Iris laevigata Fischer [Iridaceae]
Kakitsubata (カキツバタ, 杜若)
Lifeform: perennial
Distribution: northeastern China - Korea - eastern Siberia - Japan
Habitat: wetlands
Iris L. in Japan
I. ensata Thunb. var. spontanea (Makino) Nakai (ノハナショウブ)
var. hortensis (Syn. I. kaempferi Sieb. (ハナショウブ) [garden plant]
I. gracilipes A. Gray (ヒメシャガ) [not in Hokkaido]
I. japonica Thunb. (シャガ) [not in Hokkaido]
I. laevigata Fisch. (カキツバタ)
I. minutoaurea Makino (キンカキツバタ)
I. sanguinea Hornem. (アヤメ)
var. violacea Makino (カマヤマショウブ)
I. setosa Pall. ex Link (ヒオウギアヤメ)
var. hondoensis Honda (キリガミネヒオウギアヤメ)
var. nasuensis H. Hara (ナスノヒオウギアヤメ)
I. pseudoacorus L. (キショウブ) [exotic, native to Europe]
I. rossii Baker (エヒメアヤメ) [not in Hokkaido]
I. tectorum Maxim. (イチハツ) [ancient exotic]
| I. setosa | I. laevigata | I. ensata | |
| Flower | violet (rarely white) | mainly blue-purple | mainly red-purple, φ = 15 cm (largest) |
| Outer petal | retiform | non-retiform, white mottle | non-retiform, yellowish center |
| inner petal | inconspicuous | inconspicuous | |
| Stem height | > 1 m | 50-60 cm | |
| Leaf width at 20 cm above the ground surface before flowering | 1 cm (< 2 cm) | 2 cm, wavy | |
| Mdivein | unvisible | fine | thick |
| Habitat | relatively dry | mesic, emersed | mesic |
| Chromome number | 2n = 38 | 2n = 32 | 2n = 24 |
| Remarks | Sarobetsu |
Iris laevigata in Hokkaido
[Left] close-uo near Akanuma Bog in Kushiro Moor, eastern Hokkaido, on July 8 1996. [Center] a habitat for I. laevigata. [Right] a shoot. [Center/Right] In a post-mined peatland, Sarobetsu mire, northern Hokkaido, on June 20 2008.