Flowering plantsIn Ohio

Yellow Iris

Iris pseudacorus L.

Yellow Iris (Iris pseudacorus)
(c) roy pilcher, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by roy pilcher · CC BY-NC 4.0 (opens in a new tab) · iNaturalist (opens in a new tab)
Kingdom
Plantae
Phylum
Tracheophyta
Family
Iridaceae
Genus
Iris

Introduced and invasive status

Invasive in Ohio: Ohio Department of Agriculture (opens in a new tab)

Also listed

Ohio law lists it as an invasive plant: not native to Ohio, and causing, or likely to cause, economic, environmental or human health harm.

iNaturalist's volunteer curators list it as introduced in their Ohio checklist.

US-RIIS assesses a species as invasive when it causes, or is likely to cause, harm there, or is at least locally abundant and harmful ecologically, economically, or to health.

Status: Simpson A, Sellers E, Pagad S (2023). United States Register of Introduced and Invasive Species (US-RIIS), ver. 2.0. U.S. Geological Survey, https://doi.org/10.5066/P9KFFTOD (opens in a new tab)

We remember your county on this device only, until you clear it. Your ZIP code, city or location never leaves your device.

Range

Where it is recorded

Season shown in 2 of Ohio's 88 counties. Explore Ohio

  • No result yet (36)
  • Recorded, too few records for a result (47)
  • Recorded, season not shown (3)
  • Season shown (2)
Boundaries: U.S. Census Bureau, 2025 Cartographic Boundary Files, 1:500,000. Show as a table
Counties as a table
Yellow Iris by Ohio county: records and mapped range
CountyRecords
Adams CountyRecorded, too few records for a result
Allen CountyNo qualifying records yet
Ashland CountyNo qualifying records yet
Ashtabula CountyRecorded, too few records for a result
Athens CountyRecorded, too few records for a result
Auglaize CountyNo qualifying records yet
Belmont CountyRecorded, too few records for a result
Brown CountyRecorded, too few records for a result
Butler CountyRecorded, too few records for a result
Carroll CountyNo qualifying records yet
Champaign CountyRecorded, too few records for a result
Clark CountyRecorded, too few records for a result
Clermont CountyRecorded, too few records for a result
Clinton CountyRecorded, too few records for a result
Columbiana CountyNo qualifying records yet
Coshocton CountyRecorded, too few records for a result
Crawford CountyRecorded, too few records for a result
Cuyahoga County70 · Season shown
Darke CountyNo qualifying records yet
Defiance CountyRecorded, too few records for a result
Delaware CountyRecorded, too few records for a result
Erie CountyRecorded, too few records for a result
Fairfield CountyRecorded, too few records for a result
Fayette CountyNo qualifying records yet
Franklin County30 · Recorded, season not shown
Fulton CountyNo qualifying records yet
Gallia CountyNo qualifying records yet
Geauga CountyRecorded, too few records for a result
Greene CountyRecorded, too few records for a result
Guernsey CountyNo qualifying records yet
Hamilton CountyRecorded, too few records for a result
Hancock CountyRecorded, too few records for a result
Hardin CountyNo qualifying records yet
Harrison CountyNo qualifying records yet
Henry CountyNo qualifying records yet
Highland CountyRecorded, too few records for a result
Hocking CountyRecorded, too few records for a result
Holmes CountyRecorded, too few records for a result
Huron CountyNo qualifying records yet
Jackson CountyRecorded, too few records for a result
Jefferson CountyNo qualifying records yet
Knox CountyRecorded, too few records for a result
Lake County23 · Recorded, season not shown
Lawrence CountyRecorded, too few records for a result
Licking CountyRecorded, too few records for a result
Logan CountyNo qualifying records yet
Lorain CountyRecorded, too few records for a result
Lucas County33 · Recorded, season not shown
Madison CountyRecorded, too few records for a result
Mahoning CountyRecorded, too few records for a result
Marion CountyNo qualifying records yet
Medina CountyRecorded, too few records for a result
Meigs CountyRecorded, too few records for a result
Mercer CountyNo qualifying records yet
Miami CountyNo qualifying records yet
Monroe CountyNo qualifying records yet
Montgomery CountyRecorded, too few records for a result
Morgan CountyRecorded, too few records for a result
Morrow CountyNo qualifying records yet
Muskingum CountyRecorded, too few records for a result
Noble CountyNo qualifying records yet
Ottawa CountyRecorded, too few records for a result
Paulding CountyNo qualifying records yet
Perry CountyNo qualifying records yet
Pickaway CountyNo qualifying records yet
Pike CountyNo qualifying records yet
Portage CountyRecorded, too few records for a result
Preble CountyRecorded, too few records for a result
Putnam CountyNo qualifying records yet
Richland CountyRecorded, too few records for a result
Ross CountyRecorded, too few records for a result
Sandusky CountyNo qualifying records yet
Scioto CountyNo qualifying records yet
Seneca CountyNo qualifying records yet
Shelby CountyNo qualifying records yet
Stark CountyRecorded, too few records for a result
Summit County169 · Season shown
Trumbull CountyRecorded, too few records for a result
Tuscarawas CountyNo qualifying records yet
Union CountyNo qualifying records yet
Van Wert CountyNo qualifying records yet
Vinton CountyNo qualifying records yet
Warren CountyRecorded, too few records for a result
Washington CountyRecorded, too few records for a result
Wayne CountyRecorded, too few records for a result
Williams CountyNo qualifying records yet
Wood CountyRecorded, too few records for a result
Wyandot CountyRecorded, too few records for a result

No mapped range from the range source used, the USGS Gap Analysis Project, which maps land vertebrates only.

Season

When it is recorded

In Ohio

Early May to late June, middle week May 24–30

Show over the bars
Recording in Ohio · records of all species each week, 1,691,199 in all

Records per week from 740 records in 10 of the 10 years from 2016 to 2025. Shows when people recorded it, not how common it is. The grey bars show how many records of all species were made here each week, so you can see when recording itself was high or low; the season is not adjusted by them.

Recorded on 295 dates. Latest record: September 2025.

Show as a table
Records of Yellow Iris in Ohio each week, and records of all species
WeekRecords of Yellow IrisYears recordedRecords of all species
Jan 4–10006,211
Jan 11–17005,146
Jan 18–24004,645
Jan 25–31004,698
Feb 1–7006,023
Feb 8–14005,888
Feb 15–21005,436
Feb 22–28116,846
Mar 1–7008,321
Mar 8–140010,384
Mar 15–210012,620
Mar 22–280013,949
Mar 29 – Apr 42219,661
Apr 5–111126,860
Apr 12–180039,925
Apr 19–253341,623
Apr 26 – May 27556,391
May 3–922552,952
May 10–16541053,785
May 17–231521057,698
May 24–302191054,651
May 31 – Jun 61501053,099
Jun 7–13661053,700
Jun 14–2024856,625
Jun 21–279555,361
Jun 28 – Jul 44458,477
Jul 5–111161,336
Jul 12–183364,722
Jul 19–253369,753
Jul 26 – Aug 11159,416
Aug 2–82259,712
Aug 9–153255,994
Aug 16–220054,328
Aug 23–291151,772
Aug 30 – Sep 51157,167
Sep 6–122259,075
Sep 13–191154,543
Sep 20–263345,860
Sep 27 – Oct 30043,180
Oct 4–101137,841
Oct 11–172230,824
Oct 18–240021,156
Oct 25–311119,021
Nov 1–70014,172
Nov 8–140012,621
Nov 15–21007,965
Nov 22–28118,136
Nov 29 – Dec 5006,083
Dec 6–12006,004
Dec 13–19005,423
Dec 20–26005,661
Dec 27 – Jan 2008,459

Reported in flower

Usually reported in flower early May to early June, middle week May 24–30.

From 54 records that show flowers. Not every photo of a plant in flower is marked as flowering, so this shows when people reported it in flower, not when it flowers.

Reported in fruit

Only 2 records here show fruit, too few to show a fruiting season. One needs at least 20 records from 5 different years.

What these results show

These results show when people recorded a species, not when or where it occurs. Missing weeks and low counts do not mean absence or scarcity, and counts are not abundance. Contributed records reflect where, when and what people chose to observe.

Identification

How to identify it

Often confused with

  • Eurasian Sweet-Flag Acorus calamus126 identifications worldwide named one where the other was meant
  • northern blue flag Iris versicolor124 identifications worldwide named one where the other was meant
  • broadleaf cattail Typha latifolia115 identifications worldwide named one where the other was meant
  • southern blue flag Iris virginica53 identifications worldwide named one where the other was meant
  • wild daffodil Narcissus pseudonarcissus31 identifications worldwide named one where the other was meant

From iNaturalist’s similar-species counts, refreshed monthly: confusions in Ohio first, then worldwide. Only species with an Ohio result are listed.

Months not reported

  1. Jan: no record
  2. Feb: recorded
  3. Mar: recorded
  4. Apr: recorded
  5. May: recorded
  6. Jun: recorded
  7. Jul: recorded
  8. Aug: recorded
  9. Sep: recorded
  10. Oct: recorded
  11. Nov: recorded
  12. Dec: no record

Not reported in Ohio in December to January, 2016 to 2025.

Land cover where it is recorded

Land coverIts recordsAll Ohio records
Developed40%49%
Forest28%31%
Wetland21%5%
Farmland5%11%
Open water5%3%
Grassland and shrub2%0.9%
Barren0.2%0.6%

From 401 records placed within 100 m, beside all Ohio records placed the same way. People record where they go, so this shows where records come from, not where the species lives. Land cover: USGS Annual NLCD, 2025 (opens in a new tab)

Sources

Where these results come from

  • Records from iNaturalist research-grade observations and expert-identified GBIF datasets, CC0, CC BY and CC BY-NC. Sources
  • Seasons use the published method and its evidence thresholds. Methods
  • See it on iNaturalist (opens in a new tab)OpenPhenology is independent and not affiliated with iNaturalist.

Records behind the Ohio result

740 records from 2 datasets.

To cite: the GBIF download doi:10.15468/dl.y2jkt8 (opens in a new tab).

A spreadsheet (CSV) with a link to each record, on iNaturalist or GBIF. Records whose location was hidden by the observer or the source are counted but not linked.