There are three species of iris grown in gardens or growing wild on dry land in Japan, Hanashōbu (Iris Ensata), Kakitsubata (Iris Laevigata) and Ayame (Iris Sanguinea), is a species of plant in the Iridaceae family, native to Japan. , China, Korea and Russia. Of these three species, Iris Ensata is the most commonly referred to as “Japanese iris” outside of Japan.
Hanashōbu (Íris Ensata): grows in wet soil and is the most extensively cultivated variety in Japanese gardens. As their leaves are similar to “Shobu” and produce beautiful flowers, they were named “Hanashobu. Hanashobu is very similar to Ayame (Iris sanguinea) and Kakitsubata (Iris laevigata) of the same genus of iris. They can be identified by the different appearance of the iris. petal base. The yellow pattern identifies the Japanese Hanashobu irises.
Kakitsubata (Íris Laevigata): grows in semi-wet land and is less popular, but is also cultivated extensively. It is found growing in shallow water and seems to prefer swampy, calm ponds, although it can also be grown in moist soil if conditions are right. The flowers are usually blue, purple, or violet and have unique color patterns, including some types with predominantly white flowers with blue spots, called washino-o, and dark purple flowers with white edges, called maikujaku.
Ayame (Íris Sanguinea): is the iris that normally grows wild on dry land in Japan. It has grayish green leaves, an unbranched flowering stem, and flowers in shades of reddish-purple, blue to bluish-purple, red-violet, with a white variant.