In mythology, Iris was the personification of the rainbow. Presumably it is the variations in color of the human eye structure (and the flowering plant) that led to one or both receiving their names - but I don't know this for certain.
The photos above come from a large gallery of images posted at Photography Served.
From here:
ReplyDeleteiris -
late 14c., flowering plant (Iris germanica), also "prismatic rock crystal," from L. iris (pl. irides) "iris of the eye, iris plant, rainbow," from Gk. iris (gen. iridos) "a rainbow; the lily; iris of the eye," originally "messenger of the gods," personified as the rainbow. The eye region was so called (early 15c. in English) for being the colored part; the Greek word was used of any brightly colored circle, "as that round the eyes of a peacock's tail" [Liddell and Scott].