Irises on the UL Lafayette Campus

http://morayeel.louisiana.edu/SeaweedsLab/phycomirth.html . Two species of irises can be seen in the bald cypress swamp (Taxodium distichum) on the campus of the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, Cypress Lake, in March 2009: the native blue Louisiana Iris (Iris giganticaerulea) and the invasive yellow flag iris (Iris pseudacorus). Also shown are horsetails (Equisetum) bearing strobili, cone-like structures at the tips of the stems that contain spores, and American alligators (Alligator mississippiensis). http://morayeel.louisiana.edu/SeaweedsLab/phycomirth.html . Red-eared sliders (Trachemys scripta elegans) and American alligators (Alligator mississippiensis) are common reptiles that can be seen sunning on the "knees" (pneumatophores) of the bald cypress (Taxodium distichum) in the swamp ("Cypress Lake") on the campus of the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. Common aquatic plants shown are the Azolla water fern, duckweed, water pennywort, and Spirogyra - the stringy green alga. Spanish moss, which is the bromeliad Tillandsia usneoides, is a common epiphyte hanging from the branches of the bald cypress.