Iris palaestina

Iris palaestina, the Palestine iris, is a bulbous perennial in the subgenus Scorpiris. It grows in the Palestine region (Israel, Palestine and Jordan), Lebanon and Syria. It has ovoid brown bulbs, long, narrow, strap-like leaves with wavy edges and a thin white margin, and a short stem. The fragrant flowers open early, between January and February, one to three to a stem, greenish-grey or white, sometimes yellow-white. It prefers open stony soils at low altitudes and is common in olive groves. The page says it has been used as a medicinal plant in the Middle East for urinary tract infections, by boiling the leaves or the rhizomes in water, in the same way as Iris pallida. In cultivation it is not hardy in the United Kingdom and does best in a pot under cover.