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Pictured: Iris verna — the species. This variety isn’t separately illustrated.
Iridaceae family

Dwarf Violet Iris (var. smalliana) Iris verna var. smalliana variety

Native

Dwarf Violet Iris (var. smalliana) is a perennial wildflower native to the lower 48 states.

More about this plant

Iris verna, the dwarf violet iris or upland dwarf iris, is a species of flowering plant in the iris family (Iridaceae). It is endemic to the eastern United States from Maryland to Florida along the Atlantic Coast, west to Mississippi, and inland to Kentucky, Tennessee, and Ohio. It occurs in nutrient-poor acidic soils of open to semi-shaded woodlands. Wikipedia →

Growing & care

USDA PLANTS · TRY
Conditions
Sources · Conditions
Cold hardiness (derived) — Hardiness
Hardiness
≥ zone 7 derived from its U.S. range
Size & form
Sources · Size & form
USDA PLANTS — Lifespan
Lifespan
Perennial
In the garden
Herb layer — Sits in the herb of a layered food forest or polyculture.Open guide →
derived roles
Species characteristics from USDA PLANTS (public domain) + TRY (CC BY) — general guidance, not a guarantee for your exact site. Deer "browsing" is documented palatability, not a deer-proof claim.

Wildlife & pollinators

How pollinator value is scored →
❧ Caterpillar hosts ~16 caterpillar species

Iris supports ~16 caterpillar species.

Native butterfly & moth caterpillars are the base of the terrestrial food web — most songbirds rear their young almost entirely on them. As a host for native Lepidoptera this is a moderate genus.

Recorded feeding on Iris in North America, including:

Amphipoea keiferi · owlet moth Celaena reniformis · owlet moth Ctenucha virginica · Virginia Ctenucha Endothenia hebesana · Verbena Bud Moth Endothenia rubipunctana · leafroller moth Hydraecia micacea · Rosy Rustic
+ 8 more species →
Lophocampa ingens · tiger moth Lymantria dispar · Gypsy Moth Macronoctua onusta · Iris Borer Moodna ostrinella · Darker Moodna Moth Orgyia leucostigma · White-Marked Tussock Moth Papaipema cataphracta · Burdock Borer Papaipema nebris · Stalk Borer Sparganothis pilleriana · leafroller moth
Keystone count (genus-level) from Warren II 2026 (CC0) · Tallamy host-use records. Named species (a documented Nearctic sample, not exhaustive) from NHM HOSTS (CC0).
Species thumbnails re-hosted from iNaturalist — Creative Commons, credited per image (hover for credit). Click any species to see it on iNaturalist. Not exhaustive; many taxa have no openly-licensed photo yet.
Sources for this entry (12) Open & cited
[01] Scientific name & family — USDA PLANTS (DwCA, Zenodo 17903503)
[02] Growth habit & duration — USDA PLANTS (DwCA, Zenodo 17903503)
[03] Native status & distribution — USDA PLANTS (DwCA, Zenodo 17903503)
[04] Common name — USDA PLANTS (via GBIF)
[05] Invasive / introduced status — USDA PLANTS (DwCA, Zenodo 17903503) — native status
[06] Description — Wikipedia (CC BY-SA)
[07] Ecological value — Warren II 2026 (CC0) · Tallamy host-use counts
[08] Conservation rank — NatureServe Explorer (CC BY)
[09] Cold hardiness (derived) — Derived from U.S. range × USDA PHZM zones
[10] Caterpillar host count — Warren II 2026 (Dryad, CC0) · Tallamy host-use counts
[11] Caterpillar species — NHM HOSTS (CC0)
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PlantKey’s data is open under CC BY-SA 4.0 — free to reuse and adapt, with attribution and the same licence. Photos keep their own per-image licence + credit (see Sources above).

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