Iris

Name
The name iris comes directly from the Greek goddess Iris, a messenger of the god’s. She was the goddess of the rainbow and traveled on the rainbow’s arc carrying messages and commands from the gods to humans. The goddess’s connection to the rainbow recalls the variety of colors that irises come in.
Because of Iris’s relationship to the rainbow she became symbolic of bridges and was seen a connection to the other world. As such, the Greek’s still plant irises on graves and they are often used in funeral arrangements.



History
Irises have a long and rich history. The fleur-de-lis, a stylized representation of the iris, has a long history with French monarchy, beginning with Clovis the I a Frankish king whose empire birthed the French state. Legend claims that when Clovis became a Christian he dreamed of an angel who gave him an iris to commemorate the event. After his dream, Clovis adopted the iris as his emblem.

Fleur-de-lis translates as “flower of Louis” and gained the name when Louis VII, who went on the Second French Crusade in 1147, used the emblem on his banner.
The fleur-de-lis is often used symbolically in art and is often seen as the terminal ends of the arms of the cross, which effectively leads us to the importance of the iris in Christian history. The reason the iris connects with Christian history is that the number three is what the iris is all about. It has three standards and three falls. Three is the number of completion according to Pythagoras and three is the number of the Trinity the center of the Christian faith. As a result, Christian art adopted the fleur-de-lis as a symbol.
As a garden plant, irises moved quickly around the globe often in the path of conquest. Irises were some of the first ornamental plants that came to the New World. They were found on gardening lists for Virginia as early as the 1600’s and soon became the center of many public and private gardens because of their dependability.
Medicines and Perfumes

 
In the ancient world, the Indian and Egyptian cultures were among those that used iris rhizomes for medicinal purposes and for the manufacture of perfume. Perfumes were applied as offerings to the gods, and iris byproducts like orris roots were thrown onto fires to create scents that would be pleasing to the gods. Centuries later, the practice of using dried iris rhizomes was a major industry in 19th-century Florence, Italy. The iris became the emblem of Florence. In neighboring Germany, orris roots were hung in barrels of beer to keep the beer fresh. The same applied to casks of wine in France.
Uses
Irises are primarily an ornamental plant. There are some uses for orris, a particular species of iris. Orris root can be used as a fixative in potpourri and is used in ‘dry’ shampoos.
Is it necessary for such a beautiful blossom to be useful? Jurgen Dahl argues that it could replace the rose as queen of the flowers. He suggests that the iris is a good candidate for the title because it merits the title of ‘regal’ (Dahl, 56).