I’ve been seeing a fair amount of this graceful, sword-leaved plant with three showy, downward-curved, violet, boldly veined petal-like sepals.
This is a native iris of northeastern wetlands. Insects attracted to its sepals facilitate the plant’s pollination.
Northern Blue Flag Iris can be seen in marshes, swamps, wet meadows, along shorelines, and in forested wetlands. It grows to be about three feet tall.
Its rootstalks have long been used in herbal medicine to treat a variety of ailments.