Herb Directory

Blue flag (Iris versicolor) is a perennial herb native to North America, thriving along pond and stream borders, marshes, and wetlands. Its rhizome, thick and short, is unearthed in autumn.

Native Americans valued blue flag for its versatile medicinal properties. They used it as an emetic, cathartic, and diuretic, treating wounds, sores, colds, earaches, and cholera. In the Anglo-American Physiomedicalist tradition, it served as a glandular and liver remedy. The root’s chemicals were even inhaled to clear the brain of “phlegmatic humours.”

Blue flag increases urination, bile production, and acts as a mild laxative. Topically, its leaves treat skin sores and burns. However, caution is advised, especially for inexperienced users.