A Timeless History
A coat of arms. Stylised, the iris became the fleur-de-lis on the arms of the kings of France from the twelfth century — still on flags, from Quebec in Canada to New Orleans in the United States, eight centuries later. An old story says the name was first “fleur de Louis”, the king's flower, for Louis VII who carried it into battle. Historians call it legend — and the flower was most likely the yellow flag iris of the riverbank, not a lily.
SourceEncyclopaedia Britannica — britannica.com, “iris” · The Heraldry Society — theheraldrysociety.com, “The Fleur de Lys”
Science In Action
Standards — the three upright petals, signalling from a distance • Style arms — three petal-like branches of the style lie along the falls, each one roofing a stamen • A stigmatic lip — a small sticky flap under each style arm, facing the way in • A one-way route — the bee brushes the lip first, then picks up fresh pollen from the anther on its way out
SourceRoyal Botanic Gardens, Kew — kew.org · Royal Horticultural Society — rhs.org.uk
Arts
Van Gogh painted it in his first month. He arrived at the asylum of Saint-Rémy-de-Provence, in the south of France, on 8 May 1889 and painted the bed of irises in its garden that same May, among the first canvases he made there. His brother Theo showed it in Paris that September. It is now at the Getty in Los Angeles.
SourceThe J. Paul Getty Museum — getty.edu · Van Gogh Museum — vangoghmuseum.nl
Applications Today
Iris rhizomes are dried for years to make orris, one of perfumery's costliest raw materials • Orris works as a fixative — it holds other scents in place • Fresh, the rhizome smells of almost nothing: the violet scent forms as it ages, and takes two years
SourceEncyclopaedia Britannica — britannica.com, “orris root” · Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew — kew.org
In 1987 Van Gogh's Irises sold at auction for 53.9 million dollars, then a record for any painting.
Legend of the fleurs-de-lis — the Bedford Hours, f. 288v — Paris workshop (Bedford Master and associates) — c. 1414–1423 — British Library, London — Add MS 18850, f. 288v
