You’ve probably heard of the messenger goddess, Iris, from Greek Methology. She is famous for her golden wings and traveling to earth by way of rainbow. Not only does the word “iris” mean “rainbow” in the Greek language, it is said that wherever Iris the goddess set foot on earth, colorful flowers sprung up in her wake. So, it only seems fitting that this flower bearing iris as a name can be found in nearly every color known to man!
And as for the “beard” – the groups of fuzzy hairs or the fluffy ‘caterpillar’ at the top of the downward facing petals gives the bearded iris it’s name. The beard often provides a startling color contrast to the rest petals which makes this rainbow of a plant all the more interesting.