A Yellow Flag

As we started to explore the Koshkonong Creek property, I found plants I hadn’t seen before. I’ve spent plenty of time in many different woods, looking for wildflowers and morels, but these wetlands presented new-to-me species. One of these was on the edge of the wetlands, near the old barn. It looked so exotic I was wondering if I was in a sort of rain forest. The next year it bloomed, and the yellow flowers were staggeringly beautiful in the marshland.

​Then I Googled it. I was dismayed to learn that this beautiful plant has escaped from gardens and can adversely affect the natural environment.
From the Wisconsin DNR’s website:  https://dnr.wisconsin.gov/topic/Invasives/fact/YellowFlagIris

• Yellow flag iris can produce many seeds that float from the parent plant, or plants can spread vegetatively via rhizome fragments. Once established, it forms dense clumps or floating mats that can alter wildlife habitat and species diversity.
• All parts of this plant are poisonous, which results in lowered wildlife food sources in areas where it dominates.
• This species can escape water gardens and ponds and grow in controlled and natural environments. It can grow in wetlands, forests, bogs, swamps, marshes, lakes, streams and ponds.
• Dense areas of this plant may alter hydrology by trapping sediment.

 
So, I did the only logical thing – I painted it!

"Yellow Flag - Invasive Beauty" Watercolor, 10 x 14

​Then I set about destroying it. I first dead headed it to get rid of seeds, then I dug it out. Digging in the muck of a marshland on a beast that is three feet in diameter and soundly rooted is not an easy task. When I finally had it out of the ground, I dragged it up the hill with ropes and chains to the high land and laid it to wilt in the sun.
Over the summer I watched it slowly give way to a composted heap. It felt a bit like how I imagine it is to slay a dragon. I have a suspicion that this one plant will not be the end of my acquaintance with the beautiful Yellow Iris.