Dwarf Crested Iris 'Cristata Alba'

Iris cristata is a US native.
I've grown I. cristata Alba and four color forms of I. cristata for many years with great succes...Read Mores. The colors range from dark blue, light lilac, lavender and white with a lavender siqnal. It will take full morning sun here. Divide after blooming, mid May here, keep the fine roots damp at all times.
At one time students at Murphy State University, Tn. received plants of `Alba' from me for study. It is said to have been used by Native Americans to cure stomach problems. One of the few Iris to thrive in shade!

Many thanks to Mr. Robert Pries, of SIGNA (Species Iris
Group of North America) and Keith Keppel of the AIS for their assistance i...Read Moren clarifying the particulars of this plant's botanical name. Mr. Pries writes:

"In the 1930's [current ICBN] code had not been well established and it wasn't until 1959 that the rules were really tightened. The cultivar name 'Cristata Alba' is one of those names that would no longer be accepted as a valid name, but because it was already in use before 1959, it is conserved today. It refers to any white Iris cristata and is the equivalent of the botanical name Iris cristata Ait. var. alba.

Although technically a cultivar does not have to be a clone,
most Iris enthusiasts expect them to be clonal. Essentially this cultivar name does not fit into the current horticultural expectations of an Iris cultivar...White cristatas are variable in size of flower, shape and size of crest, and color of crest from pale yellow to deep orange."