The Greater New Orleans Iris Society is committed to promoting knowledge and appeciation of Louisiana irises both as garden plants and in their natural landscape.

Almost all GNOIS activities have an educational component and virtually every event is a learning opportunity. From programs at General Membership Meetings, field trips, volunteer days at the club's island nursery in City Park or in a garden or natural area, there is a consistent focus on both enjoyment and understanding of these plants.

GNOIS also has produced several publications with detailed information about Louisiana irises. Everyone who joins, automatically becomes a member of the Society for Louisiana Irises also, and receives its quarterly journal Fleur de Lis as a pdf document. The Fleur is an outstanding source of information on all aspects of Louisiana irises.

In 2018, GNOIS published a full-color, 28-page Guide to Louisiana Irises In And Around New Orleans. The Guide covered the natural history and taxonomy of the five species of Louisiana irises. It presented a brief account of the irises' modern discovery and introduction to horticulture, and it reviewed accessible wild and garden sites where they can be seen. The publication also surveyed basic cultural practices and provided leads to other sources of information.

 

Each year since 2017, GNOIS has produced "the green flyer", a brochure conceived and designed by member Gary Salathe to promote the wild places where the Louisiana iris I. giganticaerulea grows naturally and are accessible to the public by boardwalks. With the financial support of the U.S. Fish and Fish and Wildlife Service, several thousand of these brochures have been printed and distributed in South Louisiana over three years.

REFERENCES

For a general overview of the Louisiana iris species, see the Zydeco Louisiana Iris Garden species pages 

Society for Louisiana Irises, The Louisiana Iris:  The Taming of a Native American Wildflower, 2nd ed., Timber Press, 2000, Chapter 1, "History of Louisiana Irises"