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Sword-shaped leaves and showy yellow flowers with three sepals distinguish yellow flag-iris, making it a gardening favourite world-wide. Native to Europe, the British Isles, North Africa and the Mediterranean region, yellow flag-iris is considered invasive in BC.
Invasive plants grow rapidly and spread quickly, causing damage to the environment, economy and our health. They are also the second greatest threat to biodiversity after habitat loss, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).
Yellow flag-iris forms dense patches that displace native plants, alter wildlife habitat and restrict water flow in irrigation canals and flood control ditches. Currently this plant is found in BC’s southern interior, and has quickly spread throughout the Okanagan valley, lower Similkameen valley, Christina Lake and other isolated sites in the West Kootenays.
Yellow flag-iris reproduces quickly through seed dispersal and horizontal root systems, creating thickets in the water like cattails (Typha spp.), and reaching 1.5 metres in height. Several hundred flowering plants may be connected rhizomatously under the water, and fragments can form new plants when they break off and drift downstream.
Reproducing quickly on its own, this invasive plant is helped along exponentially by gardeners. Yellow flag-iris is widely sold in nurseries and on the Internet for wet areas and well-mulched soil. The popularity of the plant in the market is making efforts to contain new infestations difficult. A total of 75% of today's invasive plants were intentionally introduced as ornamentals and cost Canadians millions of dollars each year in lost productivity and increased management costs.
Help your community protect local resources by managing invasive plants. There are hundreds of native aquatic plants that are critically important to parts of a lake or river ecosystem, and alternatives are available to replace this attractive invasive in your backyard.
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“Our crew has finished their work at Fort Rodd Hill National Historic Site and Gulf Islands National Park Reserve. I want to thank you, on behalf of Parks Canada, for providing the crew to us. They were well-trained and got a lot of important restoration work done in our nationally-important heritage areas.”
Brian Reader, Species at Risk Manager, Parks Canada
"We had a great hike at Kenna Cartwright Park. The kids built a snowman and we all enjoyed the views. The outreach worker showed us some plants that don't belong in the park, gave us info about them and what to do about them, and gave us all some cool gifts from the Invasive Plant Council. Thank you!"
Susan Hammond, Kamloops Young Naturalist Club
“Working with the Hot Spots crew in Saanich in 2010, we practiced different methods to treat knotweed with glyphosate using the injection gun on several sites. With these skills I was able to implement Saanich's first knotweed eradication pesticide treatment program for private properties.”
Donna Wong, Environmental Stewardship Officer, District of Saanich
“Thank you for orchestrating access to the Hot Spots crew for GINPR. This crew allowed us to move the restoration project on Princess Margaret ahead by months if not by years.”
Wayne Bourque, Superintendent of Gulf Islands National Park Reserve, Parks Canada
“Parks Canada and Canadians have benefited from the partnership to have on-the-ground Hot Spots crews, and we would be happy to work with a crew in the future at one of our many national parks and national historic sites that are in need of invasive plant management.”
Brian Reader, Species at Risk Manager, Parks Canada
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Markus Merkens, Pacific Spirit Park area manager, Metro Vancouver
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