Yellow Iris Traditional Cache

Yellow Iris is native to Europe, brought to gardens here and then escaped. It's the only wild yellow iris. The Blue Flag Iris is native here, especially further North East. The cache is in Campbell Meadows near Etna. I hope you take the time to enjoy the beautiful meadows and Fall Creek. If you park at the fire Training Center it's a quick P&G.

The word Iris means rainbow. Iris is the flower of the Greek goddess Iris who is the messenger of Love. In the language of flowers Iris symbolizes eloquence.

Since Iris is the Greek goddess for the Messenger of Love, her sacred flower is considered the symbol of communication and messages. Therefore the flower iris in the language of flowers symbolizes eloquence. Based on their color, irises convey varied messages. A purple iris is symbolic of wisdom and compliments. A blue iris symbolizes faith and hope. A yellow iris symbolizes passion while white iris symbolizes purity. A gift of iris can be used to convey many emotions.

The two best known Irises are our own Wild Iris, 'Blue Flag' so common and loved in the Northeast. And the taller 'Yellow Flag', native to England. The Blue Flag is a perfect plant for your wildflower meadow, or anyplace else in your landscaping where there is plenty of water in spring. They cannot be submerged, but enjoy wet meadow and wet woodland locations. The very strong-growing Yellow Flag is also useful, but be aware that it can be invasive, and end up choking shallow waterways, much like cattails. Be sure it is not considered a pest in your area before planting.

In water purification, Yellow Iris (I. pseudacorus) is often used. The roots are usually planted in a substrate (e.g. lava-stone) in a reedbed-setup. The roots then improve water quality by consuming nutrient pollutants, such as from agricultural runoff. This highly aggressive grower is now considered a noxious weed and banned in some States of the USA where it is found clogging natural waterways.

Irises also have a medicinal history, the roots being used in preparation for medicines for skin infections, syphillis, dropsy and stomach problems. Today, it is still a drug widely used to purge the liver.

The cache is a camoed "micro" pill bottle with a snap cap. An arrow points to where to push it up to open. Please make sure it's snapped all around when you're done. It's tied in. BYOP to log and keep the rubber band on your finger while you do. Please remember to put the rubber band around the rolled log, before putting it back in the tiny zip lock bag. No tweezers, please, they kill the plastic.

Please let me know which parking place you chose, I'm curious. Thanks.