Patersonia

They are perennials with basal leaves growing from a woody rhizome that in some species extends above ground to form a short trunk. The leaves are tough and fibrous, often with adaptations for conserving moisture, such as stomata sunk in grooves, a thickened cross-section, marginal hairs, and thickened margins. The flowers appear from between a pair of bracts on a leafless stem. They have three large outer tepals that are usually blue to violet, and three tiny inner tepals. There are three stamens fused at the base to form a tube around the longer style, which bears a flattened stigma.Goldblatt, P. (2011). Systematics of Patersonia (Iridaceae, Patersonioideae) in the Malesian archipelago. Annals of the Missouri Botanical Garden 98: 514-523.

The genus Patersonia was first formally described in 1807 by Robert Brown in the Botanical Magazine.{{cite web|title=Patersonia |url=https://id.biodiversity.org.au/instance/apni/463645|publisher=APNI|accessdate=4 November 2021}} The genus name is a tribute to the first Lieutenant Governor of New South Wales in Australia, William Paterson, "a gentleman whose name has been long familiar to the naturalist".{{cite journal |last1=Brown |first1=Robert |last2=Sims |first2=John (ed.) |title=Patersonia sericea |journal=Curtis's Botanical Magazine |date=1807 |volume=26 |page=1041 |url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/14315#page/196/mode/1up |access-date=4 November 2021}}{{cite book |author=Manning, J. and P. Goldblatt|title=The Iris Family: Natural History & Classification |publisher=Timber Press |location=Portland, Oregon|pages=94–95 |year=2008|isbn=978-0-88192-897-6}}

The following is a list of Patersonia species accepted by Plants of the World Online as of October 2021:{{cite web |title=Patersonia |url=https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:331257-2 |publisher=Plants of the World Online |access-date=4 November 2021}}

• Patersonia argyrea D.A.Cooke (W.A.)
• Patersonia babianoides Benth. (W.A.)
• Patersonia borneensis Stapf (Borneo)
• Patersonia drummondii F.Muell. ex Benth. – Drummond's patersonia (W.A.)
• Patersonia fragilis (Labill.) Asch. & Graebn. - swamp iris, short purple-flag (S.A., Qld., N.S.W., Vic., Tas.)
• Patersonia glabrata R.Br. - leafy purple flag, bugulbi (Qld., N.S.W., Vic.)
• Patersonia graminea Benth. – grass-leaved patersonia (W.A.)
• Patersonia inaequalis Benth. – unequal bract patersonia (W.A.)
• Patersonia inflexa Goldblatt (Papua New Guinea)
• Patersonia juncea Lindl. – rush-leaved patersonia (W.A.)
• Patersonia lanata R.Br. – woolly patersonia (W.A.)
• Patersonia limbata Endl. (W.A.)
• Patersonia lowii Stapf (Borneo)
• Patersonia macrantha Benth. (N.T.)
• Patersonia maxwellii (F.Muell.) F.Muell. ex Benth. (W.A.)
• Patersonia neocaledonica Goldblatt & J.C.Manning (New Caledonia)
• Patersonia novo-guineensis Gibbs (New Guinea)
• Patersonia occidentalis R.Br. (W.A., S.A., Vic., Tas.)
• Patersonia philippinensis Goldblatt (Mindoro, Mindanao and Sibuyan, Philippines)
• Patersonia pygmaea Lindl. (W.A.)
• Patersonia rudis Endl. (W.A.)
• Petersonia rudis Endl. subsp. rudis
• Petersonia rudis subsp. velutina D.A.Cooke
• Patersonia sericea R.Br.
• Patersonia sericea var. longifolia (R.Br.) C.Moore – purple flag (N.S.W., Vic.)
• Patersonia sericea R.Br. var. sericea – silky purple-flag (Qld., N.S.W., Vic.)
• Patersonia spirafolia Keighery (W.A.)
• Patersonia sumatrensis Goldblatt (Sumatra)
• Patersonia umbrosa Endl. (W.A.)

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Category:Iridaceae genera