When I was an assistant principal at Parkview High School in Gwinnett County, a secretary named Jeanne Knox shared an interesting plant with me. I took the plant home to Lawrenceville, Georgia and transplanted it in our garden. That was thirty years ago. It made the move with us to Milton in 1992. The perennial has popped up just about everywhere in our gardens since then. I have never seen it in a plant nursery nor in any other gardens. It is the Blackberry Lily. Some of my readers may be familiar with it. Below are some images and further information.

Iris domestica, known as Blackberry Lily or Leopard Lily is a perennial that is native to eastern Russia, China and Japan. The flower petals are speckled which has caused the plant to be known as Leopard Lily. The drying rhizomes are very similar in appearance to blackberries. The plant is hardy in zones 8-10 in the United States. The dried rhizome has long been used medicinally in Eastern Asia for a variety of ailments.

Michael Green

October 7, 2020