blackberry lily

(Iris domestica)

Conservation Status
blackberry lily
 
  IUCN Red List

not listed

     
  NatureServe

NNA - No Status Rank

     
  Minnesota

not listed

     
           
Wetland Indicator Status
     
  Great Plains

 

     
  Midwest

 

     
  Northcentral & Northeast

 

     
           
 
Description
 
 

Blackberry lily is an erect, 12 to 40 tall, perennial forb that rises on a cluster of basal leaves and a leafy stem from a thickened crown at the base of the plant, underground stems (rhizomes), and fibrous roots. The rhizomes are shallow, stout, orangish-yellow, and creeping. It sometimes forms dense colonies.

Basal leaves are linear, green to grayish-green, 12 to 24 long, and to ¾ wide. They are half as long to as long as the flowering stem. The basal third to half of the leaf is folded longitudinally, the remainder flat. The tip is sharply pointed. The leaf blade is parallel-veined and lacks a prominent midvein. The upper and lower surfaces are hairless and covered with a whitish, waxy bloom (glaucous). The margins are untoothed. Basal leaves are often spread out fan-like. Stem leaves are arranged alternately in two overlapping ranks. They are shorter, stalkless, and narrowly lance-shaped to linear, but otherwise similar to basal leaves.

The stem is erect or ascending, pale green, hairless, glaucous, round in cross section, and 24 to 40 long. It usually has 3 to 5 branches but may be unbranched.

The inflorescence is a flattened, branched cluster (cyme) of 3 to 6 large flowers at the end of each branch. A pair of modified leaves (bracts) subtend each node of the inflorescence.

The flowers are 1¼ to 2 in diameter and have a to ¾ long stalk. They are semi-erect or horizontal – they do not hang downward. There are 3 petals, 3 petal-like sepals (6 tepals), 3 stamens, and 1 style. The tepals are lance-shaped, to 1 long, fused and ascending at the base, but separated and widely spreading for most of their length. They are orangish-red to orange with large, irregularly scattered, red to brownish-purple spots. A yellow version is available in cultivation. The sepals are slightly longer than the petals. The stamens have yellow to orange, to ½ long filaments; and yellow, ¼ to 5 16 long anthers. The style is 3-angled near the base, thickened in the upper half, and split into 3 branches at the tip. The flowers bloom from dawn to dusk and last only a single day. Within each cluster only a single flower blooms at a time. At the end of the day they curl up on a tight spiral, appearing like what has been described as a wrung-out dishcloth. The flowers are not fragrant.

The fruit is a green, egg-shaped, 1 to 13 16 long, to ¾ in diameter capsule with 3 longitudinal lobes. When ripe it splits open along 3 fissures to reveal blackberry-like masses of round, shiny, black seeds.

 
     
 

Height

 
 

12 to 40

 
     
 

Flower Color

 
 

Orange with red or purple spots

 
     
 

Similar Species

 
 

Michigan lily (Lilium michiganense) is much taller, 3 to 6 at maturity. The leaves are whorled except near the top, where they are single, in pairs, or in partial whorls. The flowers are much larger, 2½ to 3 wide, and hang downward. They are Turk’s-cap shaped, with tepals that bend backward to their base.

Wood lily (Lilium philadelphicum var. andinum) upper stem leaves are whorled.

 
     
 
Habitat
 
 

Moist to dry. Hillsides, pastures, woodland openings, thickets, roadsides, old fields, old homesteads, disturbed areas. Full or partial sun.

 
     
 
Ecology
 
 

Flowering

 
 

June to July

 
     
 

Pests and Diseases

 
 

 

 
     
 
Use
 
 

 

 
     
 
Distribution
 
 

Distribution Map

 

Sources

2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 22, 24, 29, 30.

 
  2/22/2023      
         
 

Nativity

 
 

Native to Asia. Introduced, cultivated, and escaped cultivation. Naturalized.

 
         
 

Occurrence

 
 

Uncommon

 
         
 
Taxonomy
 
  Kingdom Plantae (green algae and land plants)  
  Subkingdom Viridiplantae (green plants)  
  Infrakingdom Streptophyta (land plants and green algae)  
  Superdivision Embryophyta (land plants)  
  Division Tracheophyta (vascular plants)  
  Subdivision Spermatophytina (seed plants)  
  Class Liliopsida (monocots)  
 

Order

Asparagales (agaves, orchids, irises, and allies)  
 

Family

Iridaceae (irises and allies)  
  Subfamily Iridoideae  
  Tribe Irideae  
 

Genus

Iris (irises)  
  Subgenus Hermodactyloides  
       
 

Prior to 2005, the scientific name of blackberry lily was Belamcanda chinensis. It was the sole species in that genus. In that year, based on molecular DNA analysis, it was transferred to the genus Iris, and became Iris domestica. Some online sources, including USDA PLANTS, BONAP, EDDMapS, NatureServe, and FNA, and closer to home, Minnesota Biodiversity Atlas, retain the old name.

 
       
 

Synonyms

 
 

Belamcanda chinensis

Gemmingia chinensis

 
       
 

Common Names

 
 

belamcanda

blackberry lily

leopard-lily

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Glossary

Bract

Modified leaf at the base of a flower stalk, flower cluster, or inflorescence.

 

Cyme

A branched, flat-topped or convex flower cluster in which the terminal flower opens first and the outermost flowers open last.

 

Filament

On plants: The thread-like stalk of a stamen which supports the anther. On Lepidoptera: One of a pair of long, thin, fleshy extensions extending from the thorax, and sometimes also from the abdomen, of a caterpillar.

 

Glaucous

Pale green or bluish gray due to a whitish, powdery or waxy film, as on a plum or a grape.

 

Linear

Long, straight, and narrow, with more or less parallel sides, like a blade of grass.

 

Node

The small swelling of the stem from which one or more leaves, branches, or buds originate.

 

Rhizome

A horizontal, usually underground stem. It serves as a reproductive structure, producing roots below and shoots above at the nodes.

 

Sepal

An outer floral leaf, usually green but sometimes colored, at the base of a flower.

 

Tepal

Refers to both the petals and the sepals of a flower when they are similar in appearance and difficult to tell apart. Tepals are common in lilies and tulips.

 
 
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Stuart

 
 

Found on edge of new development in Stillwater, MN

 
    blackberry lily   blackberry lily  
 

Alora

 
    blackberry lily      
           
 
MinnesotaSeasons.com Photos
 
 

Plant

 
    blackberry lily      
           
 

Inflorescence

 
    blackberry lily      
           
 

Flower

 
    blackberry lily   blackberry lily  
           
 

Basal Leaves

 
    blackberry lily      

 

Camera

     
 
Slideshows
 
  Plant portrait - Blackberry lily (Belamcanda chinensis)
Identify that Plant
 
   
 
About

Published on Sep 29, 2013

A detailed look at characteristics of Blackberry lily (Belamcanda chinensis). These images can help to accurately identify the plant during different seasons of the year.

 
  射干(Blackberry Lily )
Siokhui Fan
 
   
 
About

Uploaded on Feb 11, 2012

射干

 
  Iris Doméstica
fafapadula
 
   
 
About

Uploaded on Mar 2, 2011

Minha flor preferida atualmente.

 

 

slideshow

       
 
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Other Videos
 
  Blackberry Lily
www.flowers.ms
 
   
 
About

Uploaded on Aug 15, 2011

Blackberry Lily

   
  Iris domestica Blackberry Lily
dullard69
 
   
 
About

Published on Aug 30, 2015

I call these orchid lilies myself because the flowers, at a glance look like "orchidish." They are also called Leopard Lilly.

   
  Iris domestica - Blackberry Lily
ISU Horticulture Herbaceous Ornamentals
 
   
 
About

Published on Oct 29, 2013

Blackberry Lily
Author: Cory Rigler

   
  FLOR-LEOPARDO + SEMENTES - Meu jardim !
veveblue
 
   
 
About

Published on Apr 11, 2013

Flor-leopardo ou lírio-leopardo. Belamcanda chinensis.

Google translate: Flower Leopard or Leopard lily. Belamcanda chinensis.

   
  Leopard lily , Dieffenbachia, Ledebouria , Lilium catesbaei, , Lilium pardalinum, Iris domestica
shyejyh
 
   
 
About

Published on Mar 1, 2015

   

 

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  Stuart
8/12/2022

Location: Stillwater, MN

Found on edge of new development in Stillwater, MN

blackberry lily  
  Alora
7/23/2017

Location: Barn Bluff Trail, Red Wing MN

blackberry lily  
           
 
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