Lvs numerous, ensiform, to 7 dm; stem strongly zigzag, often decumbent, 2-4 dm, conspicuously shorter than the lvs; fls 8-10 cm wide, light violet to lavender; sep with a white-variegated area at the base of the ovate blade around the yellow papillose crest, the claw as long as the blade, greenish-white with green veins; pet oblanceolate to spatulate; fr ovoid to ellipsoid- ovoid, indehiscent; 2n=42. Swamps, low woods, and shores; O. and e. Kans. to La. and Ky. May, June.
Gleason, Henry A. & Cronquist, Arthur J. 1991. Manual of vascular plants of northeastern United States and adjacent Canada. lxxv + 910 pp.