iris; Siberian iris
Refers to irises in general, and specifically Iris sanguinea. In everyday use, あやめ often broadly covers several similar-looking purple flowers, though botanically distinct from はなしょうぶ (Japanese iris) and かきつばた (rabbit-ear iris).
Irises are blooming in the garden.
Archaic use; now this plant is normally called しょうぶ. The kanji 菖蒲 read as あやめ for sweet flag is historical and rarely encountered in modern Japanese.
See also: 菖蒲 (しょうぶ)
あやめの花は紫色が美しい。
The purple color of the iris flower is beautiful.
In old texts, 菖蒲 read as あやめ can refer to the plant used for sweet-flag baths.
Arctic iris; Iris setosa
German iris; Iris germanica
gladiolus · Dutch iris
Standard kanji spelling for the iris flower. Note that this kanji can also be read しょうぶ for sweet flag, a different plant.
Kana spelling is common in everyday writing, especially to avoid confusion with しょうぶ.
Katakana spelling is sometimes used in botanical contexts or for emphasis.
The native name あやめ formerly denoted sweet flag, and 菖蒲 was applied to it because the Chinese plant name referred to sweet flag. Its modern association with irises arose later as the plants’ names became confused.