Flower of Quebec

The fleur-de-lis is a heraldic emblem seen on coats of arms everywhere, but associated particularly with French monarchy. History, or perhaps legend, has it dating back to King Clovis of France. It is said that it first appeared on his royal coat of arms to mark his conversion to Christianity in 493. It is likely that the fleur-de-lis was a Christian religious symbol before becoming a heraldic symbol, and that the French kings used it to highlight their saintliness and to underscore their divine right to rule.

In 1534, Jacques Cartier planted a cross in Gaspé that bore the royal coat of arms featuring fleurs-de-lis. In 1948, under the government of Maurice Duplessis, the fleurdelisé flag replaced the Union Jack on the tower of the Parliament Building in Quebec City. The white flowers were placed in a vertical position and the flag became Quebec’s official emblem.

The term fleur-de-lis (flower of the lily) is confusing in that the design does not refer to a lily at all but rather to an iris. Because the traditional fleurs-de-lis appearing on the French royal coats of arms are gold it is thought that the actual flower symbolized in ancient heraldry is Iris pseudacorus, or Yellow Flag Iris, a native of Europe and Asia.

The official flower of Quebec was for many years the Madonna lily, no doubt because of its white colour and the mistaken notion that it was the flower depicted by the fleur-de-lis. Questions of suitability arose when botanists pointed out that the Madonna lily is not even native to Quebec. Neither is Yellow Flag Iris for that matter and is in fact considered by some to be an invasive non-native.

After years of heated debate it was decided that Iris versicolour most resembles the heraldic fleur-de-lis. Iris versicolour or Eastern Blue Flag, is appropriately native to our province and grows in wetlands all the way up to James Bay. Obligingly, it is even in bloom for la fête nationale. In 1963 the Blue Flag iris was adopted as Quebec’s official flower.

So, if you want to grow fleurs-de-lis in your garden, the Eastern Blue Flag Iris is your plant. It typically grows in rich wet heavy soil in bogs or near rivers in full sun, so you will need to provide these cultural requirements. Strong two to four foot stems emerge from thick cylindrical creeping rhizomes, bearing sword-shaped long narrow leaves. Each stem carries two or three blue flowers. The three petal-like sepals that curve gracefully downwards are shaded and lined with purple, burgundy, and yellow - hence the name versicolour. The three true petals are smaller and curve upwards.

Blue Flag Iris is very hardy — to Zone 2 — and disease resistant. It is long blooming, providing colour from May until July. Muskrats like to gnaw on the roots but this won’t bother most home gardeners for whom this is one of the easiest and showiest aquatic plants. ￿