Leopard flower
Belamcanda chinensis growing in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
(unranked):	Angiosperms
(unranked):	Monocots
Order:	Asparagales
Family:	Iridaceae
Genus:	Iris
Species:	I. domestica
Binomial name
Iris domestica

Iris domestica (Blackberry lily, Leopard flower, Leopard lily; syn. Belamcanda chinensis, Belamcanda punctata Moench, Gemmingia chinensis (L.) Kuntze, Iris chinensis Curtis, Ixia chinensis L., Morea chinensis, Pardanthus chinensis (L.) Ker Gawl.) is an ornamental plant in the Iridaceae family. In 2005, based on molecular DNA sequence evidence, Belamcanda chinensis, the sole species in the genus Belamcanda, was transferred to the genus Iris and renamed Iris domestica.^[1]

Contents 1 Medicinal uses 2 See also 3 References 4 Bibliography 5 External links 6 Notes

[edit] Medicinal uses

The dried rhizome has long been used in East Asia to treat throat troubles, asthma, swollen liver and spleen, gonorrhea, malaria, and arrow poisoning.^{[citation needed]} The leopard lily is a flowering perennial of Chinese origin and is locally used in Chinese villages for its medicinal values. Currently, studies are underway to investigate its apparent potential against prostate cancer^[2].

The plant grows 60-90 cm tall in full sun and is often found blanketing hill sides, the flowers can range form red to yellow to orange or mixed and bloom in summer to early autumn (fall). The leaves grow in a fan, like those of a gladiolus. The flowers are typically orange spotted with red, although yellow-flowered varieties are in cultivation. The seed pods open in the fall, showing clusters of black seeds whose fancied resemblance to a blackberry gives the plant its common name, "blackberry lily." The plant is hardy to USDA plant hardiness zone 5 and is propagated by seeds or division.

[edit] See also

• Dieffenbachia (Leopard Lily)

[edit] References

[edit] Bibliography

• Pink, A. (2004). Gardening for the Million.. Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation. 

[edit] External links

• (Norwegian) Belamcanda chinensis
• Belamcanda chinensis at USDA PLANTS Database
• TSN 43280. Integrated Taxonomic Information System.

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Iris domestica

[edit] Notes

This Iridaceae article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. v • d • e