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Japanese iris

/ dʒæp.ənˌiːz ˈaɪ.rɪs/US/ˌdʒæp.ən.iːz ˈaɪ.rɪs/

Japanese iris noun: a group of iris flower species native to or cultivated in East Asia, particularly in Japan, Korea, China, Russia, and Mongolia. Scientifically, the three primary species are Iris ensata, Iris laevigata, and Iris sanguinea.

Noun (1)

Japanese iris (plural Japanese irises)

  1. A group of iris flower species native to or cultivated in East Asia, particularly in Japan, Korea, China, Russia, and Mongolia. Scientifically, the three primary species are Iris ensata, Iris laevigata, and Iris sanguinea.
    • Though we have in Europe certain varieties which grow on comparatively dry soil, we never find the Japanese iris represented otherwise than on damp ground.1891, Siegfried Bing, Artistic Japan - Illustrations and Essays, volume 6, page 417
    • Observations have been made over a period of 3 years on infested Japanese iris plants that were very much dwarfed and produced few flowers, but which after treatment to remove the thrips and transplanting to a new location, became vigorous.1937, Floyd Franklin Smith, Leonard Gordon Utter, The Iris Thrips and Its Control by Hot Water with Notes on Other Treatments, page 2

Noun (2)

Japanese iris (plural Japanese irises)

  1. A fringed iris, of the species Iris japonica, native to China and Japan, not considered a Japanese iris species.
    • Japanese Iris - Iris japonica - Other Common Name(s): Butterfly Flower, Fringed Iris, Shaga2025, Japanese Iris, NC State University, sourced from https://plants.ces.ncsu.edu/plants/iris-japonica/common-name/japanese-iris/, N.C. A&T State University
    Synonyms:
    butterfly flower

Japanese iris meaning in Arabic

Japanese iris in Arabic

The Japanese iris group
سوسن دموي

Synonyms of Japanese iris

  • butterfly flower

Forms of Japanese iris

pluralJapanese irises

Origin of Japanese iris

From Japanese + iris, due to them being discovered first by Western explorers in Japan.

Calque of taxonomic name Iris japonica, as gardeners have colloquialised its term.

Words that rhyme with Japanese iris

Questions about Japanese iris

What does Japanese iris mean?
Japanese iris means a group of iris flower species native to or cultivated in East Asia, particularly in Japan, Korea, China, Russia, and Mongolia. Scientifically, the three primary species are Iris ensata, Iris laevigata, and Iris sanguinea.
What is Japanese iris in Arabic?
Japanese iris in Arabic is سوسن دموي. See Japanese iris meaning in Arabic.
What part of speech is Japanese iris?
Japanese iris is a noun.
How do you pronounce Japanese iris?
Japanese iris is pronounced / dʒæp.ənˌiːz ˈaɪ.rɪs/ (UK).
What is the plural of Japanese iris?
The plural of Japanese iris is Japanese irises.

Words near Japanese iris in the dictionary

  1. Japanese holly
  2. Japanese honeysuckle
  3. Japanese hop
  4. Japanese hops
  5. Japanese horseradish
  6. Japanese iris
  7. Japanese irises
  8. Japanese ivies
  9. Japanese ivy
  10. Japanese jack mackerel
  11. Japanese jack mackerels

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: Japanese iris (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-Japanese iris.wav.

Cite this entry: “Japanese iris.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/japanese_iris. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.