noun
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).
庭にあやめが咲いている。
Irises are blooming in the garden.
あやめの花は紫色が美しい。
The purple color of the iris flower is beautiful.
noun
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)
古い文献では、菖蒲を「あやめ」と読んで菖蒲湯の材料を指すことがある。
In old texts, 菖蒲 read as あやめ can refer to the plant used for sweet-flag baths.
Katakana spelling is sometimes used in botanical contexts or for emphasis.
Refers to sweet flag (Acorus calamus), a different plant. The kanji 菖蒲 is shared, but the reading and meaning differ.
Japanese iris (Iris ensata), a different species often confused with あやめ. It prefers wet soil and has a yellow stripe on the petal.
Rabbit-ear iris (Iris laevigata), another similar-looking purple flower. It grows in shallow water and has a white stripe on the petal.
The reading あやめ is a gikun (meaning-based reading) for the kanji 菖蒲, which originally referred to sweet flag. The word あやめ itself is of native Japanese origin, but its exact derivation is uncertain.