Orris

Statema, B. C. P.

Plant

Orris

Iris; the Florentine iris

Known today as: The dried root of Iris germanica ‘Florentina’ and I. pallida.
Kind: Plant, in 1 older authority
Constituents: irones, iridin, myristic acid
Earliest authority here: Dioscorides (c. AD 40–90)
In other databases: Plants of the World Online search · GBIF search · Wikidata search

Orris: what was it used for?

For coughs and the lungs, and above all as a perfume for powders, linen, and the breath.

Orris: what does modern science say?

Now a perfume fixative; the fresh root is irritant.

Pharmacognosy & Toxicology

Constituents

ironesalpha-, beta-, gamma-irone, the violet scent, formed over years of drying
iridin ChEMBLan isoflavone glycoside
myristic acid ChEMBL

Mechanism

The scent develops as the rhizome’s triterpenes oxidise to irones over three years in store, which is why orris is dear; the fresh rhizome is an irritant purgative and emetic by its resins, and the dried a mild expectorant. The teething-ring of orris root given to infants has been dropped for the risk of choking and sensitising.

Toxic dose

The fresh root purges; the dried is safe in perfumery doses.

Standing

A perfumery fixative; no medical monograph.

Jaenicke, L., and Marner, F.-J. (1986). “The irones and their origin.” Pure and Applied Chemistry 58. Verified against its record · doi:10.1002/chin.199047353

Constituent names open the compound’s record at PubChem, and “ChEMBL” beside a name opens its record at ChEMBL, the European Bioinformatics Institute’s database of bioactive molecules. Where a mechanism line was checked against ChEMBL (ChEMBL 37, read 1 October 2026), the check is shown with the measured value and its source paper, or says plainly that nothing has been measured. Doses are as the references give them, for description only; this is not medical advice. Each source carries the result of its check against Crossref, PubMed, or the authority’s page: see Verification.

Orris: what lore surrounds it?

The lily of Florence’s arms is an iris, and the city’s orris was its trade.

Orris: what did the older authorities say?

Dioscorides: Names the Illyrian iris the best, and gives the root for coughs.

Sources

Dioscorides, De materia medica. Read in part · the text read

Verification

Checked

October 1, 2026

Passes

Every sentence read against its sources, in the fifty-entry sample
The Standing line checked against the authority it names (EMA, WHO, FDA, CITES, Commission E)
Every dated or regulatory claim checked by category across the database

Sources

2 cited: 1 read in part, 1 verified against its record.

Corrections

None were needed.

What was checked, how, and what was found is set out on the Verification page. A checked source is one whose record was found; it does not make the entry medical advice.

Cite This Entry

Version 1 · first published September 25, 2026

Chicago: “Orris.” In Materia Medica, edited by B. C. P. Statema. Version 1. The Thinking Press, 2026–. Last modified September 25, 2026. https://thethinkingpress.org/materia-medica/orris.
MLA: “Orris.” Materia Medica, edited by B. C. P. Statema, version 1, The Thinking Press, 25 Sept. 2026, thethinkingpress.org/materia-medica/orris. Accessed 8 Oct. 2026.
APA: Orris. (2026, September 25). In B. C. P. Statema (Ed.), Materia medica (Version 1). The Thinking Press. Retrieved October 8, 2026, from https://thethinkingpress.org/materia-medica/orris

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