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\-:- I ·~SIG NA
THE SPECIES IRIS STUDY GRO~P . ~ , .. \· ~ : . ·, \' ~ '"!. : :. OF THE AMER ICAN IRIS SOCIETY THE SPECIES IRIS STUDY GROUP OF THE Al-'J.ERICAN IRIS SOCIETY April, 1977 - No. 18 OFFICERS OF THE SOCIETY
CHAIRMAN B. LeRoy Davidson 911 Western Ave., #200, Seattle? Wash. 98104 Phone 206 756-2156 SECRETARY TREASURER Homer Metcalf Montana State University, College of Agri. Bozeman, Montana 59715 Phone: 406 994 -4601 SEED EXCHANGE
DIRECTOR Jean Witt 16516 - 25th 9 NE., Seattle, Wash. 98155
SPECIES ROBIN Lorena Reial 17225 McKenzie Highway, Route 2 DIRECTOR Springfield, Oregon 97477
EDITOR Bruce Richardson 492 Twenty Rd. E. , R.R. 2, Hannon, Ontario, Canada Phone: 416 679-4636 EDITOR OF THE STUDY MANUAL B. LeRoy Davidson *********** CONTENTS l Page No. I Greeting From Your Chairman B. LeRoy Davidson 492 The Irids Of Alaska Homer Metcalf 493 A Reclassification Of The Siberian Irises Lee W. Lentz 505 The Range Handbook, U.S.D.A. 1937 507 Dye Plants and Dyeing Brooklyn Botanic Garden 507 Out of the Past - MY ROCK GARDEN Reginal Ferrer 508 Interesting Bits And Pieces Jean Witt 510 The Bibiography Of Irises M.me B. Foucault 511 Comments A.C. Curracy 516 1976 Awards To Pacific Coast Irises 517 An Interesting Scorpiris (Juno) Iris Jean Witt 518 Questions Please B.L.D. 519 Drawing - I . pZatytera & I . cyaZogZossa 520 Drawing - I. fosterana., I drepanophyZZa & I . tectorum ( two forms) 521 Drawing - I. cycZogZossa 522 Letters 523 A Sobering Thought B. LeRoy Davidson 529 Letters 530 Seed Exchange Report Jean Witt 531 Editorial Comments Bruce Richardson 5.31 · ·- ******* !"1EMBERSHIPS: $3 . 00 per year - Send to Homer Metcalf. (SeO'I'eta:l"y-Treasia>er)
BACK ISSUES OF PUBLICATIONS: SIGNA 1-18 avaiZabZe @ $1 . 50 each. IRIS STUDY MANUAL - $5. 00 for the set. 492
GREETINGS FROM YOUR CHAIRMAN
It had been our intention to bring you here and at this time a double features the brief history of the first ten years of the SPECIES GROUP and the announcement that the GROUP was becoming an AIS Section. However ~ with the upset at the AIS Headquarters, and the hassle that has taken up most everybody 's past six months "spare" time, not much has been resolved. · Meanwhile, your Executive has formulated a set of ·by-laws that should serve in any and all event, (that is, whether we become a section or not). To most of the members it is perhaps imma terial. To those of us who must deal with the day by day tasks of keeping this organization running for your enjoyment, it seems evident that, in spite of fairly smooth operation, something is missing. For one thing, it is virtually impossible to locate willing successors, and some of us after as many as ten years, would like a little taste of the freedom we used to take for granted.
Consequently, with the fall issue of SIGNA will come the ten year history and in the interim we. will plug onward towards getting the matter of affiliation ironed out with the AIS. Some may ask what is the anticipated advantage? We had hoped that affiliation would somewhat ease the chores of membership and record-keeping . It now seems this may not be so. At any rate, by-laws didn't seem essential at the outset ten years ago, and we have functioned on the basis of the AIS by-laws , in spite of their being rather involved in detail. The present effort towards a set of our o·wn is aimed a t keeping the management of this organization simple and as easy as possibl e ~ and we do not anticipate any policy changes will become necessary. So look forward to a birthday celebration, and good gard~ning to all of you.
As ever
Roy Davidson. ********* ~93 THE IRIDS OF ALASKA
Pref ace by HO.t-".i.ER METCALF
The late Hulten was the foremost 20th Century student of the circumboreal flora. Working, in his earlier years, a t the Botanical Musetml of the University of Lund (Sweden), and subsequent~y at the State Museum of Natural History (Stockholm), he de,oted a lifetime of st,;dy to the floristics of northeastern Asia and northwestern Ncrth America. Beginning as a young graduate c.tu,:.9at, ca . 1920, he embarked on a najor botanical exploration of the Kamchatka Peninsula which resulted in his four p~~·t "Flora of Kamtchatka'' (1927-1930). This was followed by entensive field studies in the Aleutian Islands, l eading to his 11 Flora of the Aleutian Islands" Published i n two editions, ed . 2 appearing in 1960. He next tackled that geographical behomoth, mainland Alaska, continuing f ieldwork there and in the Yukon until 1965. Based on these studies was his "Flora of Alcska and Yukon", published in ten parts between 1941 and 1950 (the irids are treated in Part III, published in 1943), and his cul minating work, the rr.onumental 1008 page tome, "Flora of Alaska and Neighboring Territories11 published by Stanford University Press in 1968 .
Well-trained in classical taxonomy, much of Hulten's career antedated the era of cytotaxo~o~y and the development of such contemporary analytical tools as chrom ~::c~r2.phy, the sr.:.~r:nii:g ele~tr,.:'!1 micrcscc pe, ar:.d camputer-aided techniques . Yet his views on specfa'::·_;):·: :~.,:-~ c,ui~:e in tt::iie with the bc:,;t thinking of the mid-20th Century. I;i his o.m wcT
In t he int:r.:-·:h:,:ti-:--n to his "Flora of Alaska and Yukon" (1941), Hul ten divided t:}~·.:- se r ~gic-ns b~o U phy t06e:::c:r2.ph.i.:: dis tricts, and his map of their approximate bo:;_11daries is r,:;p,:o The PACIFIC COAST i s divide,:! into t hree parts, viz . , the Eastern, the Central t-:..."ld the Weste:,:n Pe.cifi,.: Cot:.s-,: The EASTERN PACIF:.C CC,A.~1' Di8TFIC I' comprises what is generally known as south east orn Alaska, i.e. , ,...the c::last i:!.n-:1 islands from the southern limit of the state r.orthwestwards t o 141-·w . l o,1g . T.-1e district is a fairly natural phytogeographical lmit. Nunerc.us p lants c-f r-:--uthern affinitiP.s extend along the coast, reaching more or l ess far t o the nu~th,iest. The westernmost part of the district, the Yakutat Bay area, is however, 111uch p0orer in species and r:: ight well be regarded as belonging to the Central P~cific Coast di strict . Practically the entire Eastern Pacific Coast district was ove1·rid1ieP.. durir.k: the glacial period by the solid ice-sheet, with the pO$Sible exceptie,n of the h:!.gh r.,::::.L1tains in its northwestern part. The central and southern p~rt contain no endexilics . The enti re area falls within the zone of the coastal Tsuga heterop?,;.yf~a - Pii:Jea sitahensis for.ast. The CENTRAL PACIFIC COAST DISTRICT c,::i:::prises the coastal strip surrounding P:rince Wiliiam Sound and Cook Inlet, togethe r with the !~enai Peninzula. It was }i~nvily glaciated but not overri half of Cook Inlet, where the interior Pioea glcruoa - Betula forest reaches the .sea. The WESTERN PACIFIC DISTRICT comprises the Kodiak Archipelago and the Alaska Peninsula with surrounding islands. -The boundary to the east is set at Kamichak Bay - southern end of Hiarnna Lake - Kvichak Bay. Except for Afognak Island and the northern part of Kodiak Island, which are situated in the coastal forest zone, it is a treeless area. It was heavily glaciated except for the northern shore of the Alaska Peninsula. The ALEUTIAN ISLANDS form a natural continuation of the Alaska Peninsula but are here taken as a separate district. The interior part of the area was divided into fqur districts, viz., the Alaska Range district, the Upper Yukon district, the Central Yukon River district, and the Lower Yukon River district. To the ALASKA RANGE DISTRICT belongs the arc of mountains named the Alaska Range, which stretches north of the Central Pacific Coast district. The line of demarcation between it and the more continental interior districts is drawn along the foothills of the chain and thus comprises the upper and middle part of the tributaries flowing into the Tanana and Kuskokwim Rivers. The district mostly belongs to the alpine region, though the interior forest covers the bottom of the larger valleys. It was heavily. glaciated, but the high mountains were apparently not covered by the ice-sheet. Many endemics are found in the Alaska Range, as well as palnts with strongly disjunct distributionss reappearing in the mountains south of the Pleistocene ice-sheet. The UPPER YUKON RIVER DISTRICT includes the basin of the Upper Yukon River down to the mouth of the White River and the Stel1art River. The upper part of the Alsek River, which intersects the St. Elias Range, is also counted as part of this district on account of the continental character of this valley, sheltered from the inflµences of the coast by the mighty St. Elias Range . The eastern corner of the Yukon terr itory, which is drained by the Liard River, a tributary of the .Mackenzie River, is also included in the disti-ict. The major part of this district shows no traces of having been glaciated; only its eastern and southern margins were covered by the great ice-sheets and even there most probably the high mountains were never completely glaciated. The district contains numerous endemics and a great many species with disjunct distributions, reappcar:i.ng .in the Roack Mountains south of the boundary of the great ice-sheet or in other distant unglaciated areas. (Note: the irids of this district are incompletely treated). The CENTRAL YUKON RIVER DISTRICT is taken to include the basin of the Yukon River from the mouth of the Stewart River to the mouth of the Koyukuk River, as well as the basins of the larg-e tributaries Tanana River and Porcupine River. The upper parts of the tributaries of the Tanana River from the south are regarded as belonging to the Alaska Range .district arid not to this district. The basin of Peel Riverj a tributary of the lower Mackenzie River, is also referred to this district. although botanically little known. During the glacial period the district had only local glacaition in the m0untains. The LOWER YUKON RIVER DISTRICT. comprises• 0 the basin of the Lower Yukon River from the mouth of the Koyukuk .River to 162 W.long. The upper and central parts of the basins of the Kuskokwim and Nushagak Rivers are also included in it, except for that part of the former which falls within the Alaska Range. It is hardly nese.:;sary to give the southern limit of the district as it is poorly known botan ically. Except for the. mountains, the district was unglaciated. 495 The northwestern coast was also divided into three districts, viz. , the Bering Sea district, the Bering Strait district, and the Arctic Coast district. r The BERING SEA DISTRICT includes the eastern coast of the Bering Sea from ' Kvichak Bay to .Norton Bay as well as the islands west of the coast, the Pribilof Islands, Nunivak Island, Hall Island, St . Matthew Island and St. Lawrence Island. The eastern limit of this district is chosen so as to comprise only the forestless area along the sea coast. As this area has ·a flora fairly distinct from that of the Lower Yukon River district, it was necessary to distinguish from the latter. The BERING STRAIT DISTRICT; stretching along the coast from Norton Bay to Cape Lisburne and eastwards to the sources of the rivers flowing into Norton Sound and Kotzebue Sound , is floristically akin to the Bering Sea district and separated from it merely for practical reasons. Several endemics and species with disrupted distribution and not occurring in. the Bering Sea district are, however, found in the Seward Peninsula, and their number might be expected to increase when our knowledge of. the flora of the high mountains becomes· greater. The Upper Kobuk River basin is taken as bel?nging to the Central Yukon .River district as it extends rather far inland. Finally, the ARCTIC COAST DISTRicr ·comp;ises the Arctic Coast from Cape Lisburne to the Mackenzie delta. Its southern limit is unimportant, as practically no plants are known from the arctic slope of the Brooks Range, the continuation of the Rocky Mountains westward, north of the Yukon River. All three Northwest Coast districts were unglaciated during the Pleistocene, except for a heavy glaciation of the mountainous parts. These glaciations were confined chiefly to the mountains of the .Seward Peninsula and to the Brooks Range. The interior forest occupies only the valleys of' the eastern part of the Bering Strait district, otherwise all three dis tricts are forestless. For a histroy of botanical exploration in Alaska and Yukon from their discovery in 1940 , the reader is referred to a paper by Hulten published in Botaniska Notiser 1940, pp . 289-345, which is updated on pp . xvi - xix in the introduction to his 1968 "Flora". THE IRIDS Only 3-4 taxa of irids were recorded for Alaska and the Yukon by H~lten in his 1943 treatment of the family. _These were Iris setosa Palias ex ·Link and its subsp. inter.ior (E. Anderson) . Hul ten, with mention of the var~- ptatyrhyncha Hul ten, and coverage of Sisyrinchiwn Uttorale Greene. The 1968 "Flora" notes that the eastern North American counterpa~t to I. setosa is I. hookeri Penny, and that this plant is 11 11 noften regarded as a race of I . setosa • Added to the list in the 1968 Flora" is Sisyrinchiw.n montanwn Greene, which is known from the Yukon and the Mackenzie, but seems to be unreported from Alaska. We are reproducing much of the treatment of Iris L. appearing in both of Hul ten's works on the flora of Alaska, here coalesced to form what we hop·e the reader will find to be a unified and detailed coverage of the northern member of the Series Setosae, which might not otherwise .be readily available. ·Distribution maps are provided, redrawn from Hulten 1 s 1943 opus ;:- ,for. I . setosa, its subsp. interior and for Sisyrinchiwn littorale, as Figs. 2, 3, and 4. 496 Fig. 1 . Phytogeographic districts of Alaska (after Hulten, 1941). ) ' J '-i $97 Iris L . Bracts hrrbacc>ous, 11ot distinctly violet-colored; leaves usually more than 8 mm broad ...... J. I. setosa subsp. setosa Bracts scarious, distinctly violet-colored; leaves about 5-8 mm broad ...... 2. I . setosa subsp. interior :171. Jris srtosi:i }'ALI.. ex I.1~K in ::-P1tf::--.O .. Rcmuv. u . 1,r-:--;K. -lahrlJ. ,l. Uew.-K1111 rto J::: (l~:!11) p. ,l. fri8 LA-:--;csou'!{FE'. Rei:;e 11. cl. \V C' lt 2 ( 1:--1:?) p. -Fi. -· Iris ;;;{,:rin, Jl, 1<1K. ,\ A1t~o-r1·. Bot. Uceche.(s ,·o.,·. (1:--+J) p. 1:;0: HEE:1TA);~ , Rot. Voy. He;·alrl (18.",-;) p. 4~: Houm.. , f;ketPh fl . ..\la::;ka ( 18(,7) P· ,f!)G; .DnlAX D in l!ep. ;-:inrerint. r .s. Coa~t Surv. 1srn Jl. :{2-1; K:---0wr.,·1·O:-- in Prue. U.S. Xnt. ::\L11::1. ~ p::;s:i) l'· :?10; TL' R);f:R. Contr.ib. Nat. :H.i~t . Aln:sl-a (l»8H) p. 77: K1~ti:.o~ . R ep. ~nt. lJist. Coll. :\l1tsk.-( (ls.:;-;) p . :lO; VASh:Y in Proc. U.S . 'N",-:;~. ?l{u:s. lZ ( I 8Hll) p. :! 1 ;-; ; 1(1;·1:Tz in E ~L1LEl-: . ·gr,t. Jahrb. HI ( L8!J;i) p. 40!); ~fnn, Crni:,e ofCon\'in ( 10 17) p. :!,"i8. -- fris:,(10.,:1 L 1-:1> E i1. , 1n. Ro!;,;. 4 (11Vi '.l) p . !):{; Covu ,LR in Co11trib. 1;.:-:;. 'Xat. Hc-rh. :{ (l~!Hi) p. :J -lfi: J3r:.\:--· nEc:r-:i:: in }L~~LLmi in Uni\'. Calif. P11l>l. Zool. .--; (l!lh l) p. :1til: ! h1-:1:.;;. Th•.\ C t·nu., Iris ( l fll :l) p. !):!: H1GG in "Plant \Vol'!d 17 (lUl-l-) p. 177: -'l.\xo~ .in ~n1ttl: in L·.:--:. (:col. ~ULT. Bull. ti.1., ( l!l17) p ..1 .. 1,: .A:-1>~:R~O~ in P1·Pc._JO\rn .h:,td . ::-;l.. :!Ii (t!ll!li l'· :1:!~: ll t:n·111so-:,;. X . Hit1h:-l{ i11g<' •"\l i"'"· Hut. ( :a:·d . :!:l ( I !l:Hj) p. 4./j(J: 1-l 1-LT .• fl. :\leut. I~ ( I !J:-:, } p. I :; 4 (aJ,:11 Y;\r. 1,/0/y r!, Jn,r/.11;: H ci:r. in Yt-;,!<:tation~hildc1· ~-i Heft :J (rn:r,) t:ih. JS: }\i :-TER in Contrih. (;;-;r~· :Hc>rb i~!I (1!1:>,-;) p. ?',!): ~JIARl'LF:S .•\la! E o~tcra Pnc::fic.- l '<.•a,;r, ,ii,-tr.: Yt·~ Htt,\· Howv:1.1. JtiCi l (XYJ; C.'le,·c-];111,I J'.mi11~. F1,1-:-l'·r :WOll; ~hc,rt Hay .:\01nr..;.):; .\lcudenholl ...\:-,; 01-;1:so~:? •.\ l-t, ( l.li, , 2!) (:'.\'t" ). do L't"HJ-:H 'iiil:1 (H ): K.:>lp Ba_\· .Jul,\· 4, J!ll:, \\·. .11x1m t<:1; l'onng!? hay Kiut:!>t:: ttct". ('o Kt;JtTZ loc- . ..-it.: Skugwn:-· E.-•.sr11·noo $(•3; TJy.,.i (',,1-:JJY !!Sii (G): Ynku(nt Hny, Ankow R . .F~·::,i:,;Tc,~ :i3 (C). C'<:HI 1•ul l'n,·ifir Cua ,; t ,list r.: Yii-gin Bny .),rnE: 25, JSH!) Kr-:-.CAlD 1H); Hn\\·kiHs l. IJ1 1:1-i::1· ~"ITH 12, ((\ip): Hi1l<'l1 inbr1.11.1k I . .June 2:::. L!)3u (111u J u1w 3U, l!'\3, Xtm1n:1:(: (Hl: :-,ow11rd H r:,cm:00:-- 31; E u ;;ilof E1·A ':'-!'-. \\",·-;.;t 0n1 P:ll:ifi c: ('c,;J.~t dis l 1·.: .\fo1,'lrnk l!llS .:-S 1n·1~s (Col A); l{odi~,k ,>...\.llrnil'lllir,i t •> (Le11). cl o -l nl_\· 1:-;. lSU, K1::-c.,m (H). do :'\lYtnorn J09 (X Y). 1ln JT1·-rc.1n!':o:-. !HI; Pt lluhmn Enm r11,;111371H); TJ,rec- !'-aims Hny EY1-:1m .-DL 4,7,j (HJ; •.\filok Loon• I 18; Karlnk H Iris setosa Pall. l1ootstock · 1• ,. t, thick, covered with fibrous remains of disintegrated leaves; stem mostly with . branches; bracts herbaceous, green or somewhat purplish, ns long as pP.dicels ( 1:· : mgcr; sepals blue with dark veins ( rarely purplish or white), broad, abruptly c:nntractecl into short claw; petals small, up to 2 crn long, with narrow blade, ul.m1ptly contracted into lanceolate, acute or subulatc lip; capsule ovate, obtusely angled. Poisonous, causes vomitfog. l\foadows, shores. Described from eastern Siberia. The form of the petals varies considerably; specimens with dilated, somewhat acute or even obtuse petals occur ( var. platyrhyncha Hult.). The eastern North Americi1n counterpart to lhis plant is I . Hookeri Penny, often regarded as a race of 1. setosa; · · !5'u lJsp. intrrior (E. A~llERSO~) comb. nov. lris S!'losa rnr. intuior E. AsnERSO~ in Ann. ;\Ji,;:;. ]3Pt-. Gard. :Z:l (J !l:Hi) p. -Hi:!. ?lri-'S .~r.fosa Co\". & \\·rGHl' in U.S. c:col. ~UJT. Prof. P,qmr lo (1 !10:!) p. :i!l; ?E,\~T\\-. in CA);T\\"ELL. R ep. opcr. Rev. Steamer Nnnivak (190-1) p. :Z!lO; ?:\bxoN in S ::.!1TH in "C .8. C:eol. Surv. l~ull. 655 (Hl.17) p ..J4 : Pons. in Rliodora 41 (l!l~!l) p. :!14 pro partc: 8CA;\DTA>" in Rhodorn 42 ( JH40) p . :i I !J. - Tri8 8t:lusn var. int,en'.or .·\ 7'lJ.ER!';0); lN:. cit. Ce:ncral Pat·ifie Co:,:;t tlistr.: Lake llinmuH R eg. <:i,n:-.1A :-- :!,4 (C. ,SY) . .-UA!::ka Hany<> di <: tr.: Pnx:::on \\' r.,·r ::1:-1.; (L): ?Lako (.'Jark--Centrl'tl Knslw kwim cli:::tr. ='.\1:c.r,:--1· ,\ :-:;:.11TH ac·c. 10 '.\1 Axo:--· Joe. e:il . (',·ntr,d \'11k1J11 R. di, •0 " • •o () er'- ... ~ ...... • o .;~"" Flora of Alaska and Yukon •,:, ob,. \0 Iris setosa \0 \ ' 'I \ 500 ~o ~0, - § ~ ~ r-o 8 ~ ·~ ro t -+-,;:, ro -~ ~ ~ ~ ro ~-+-,;:,f:5 ~ ~ CIJ ~ ·~ 0~ ro ~ 0 ~ ~ s\ 00 <>r, ~ 0 n I ) .'\ I ) Flora of Alaska and Yukon u, Sisyrinchium littorale .....0 ) ) 502 .,-\:; poilll<'d Oi.it by!-,. r\:,:r,g1:s<,~. inl,!t:d :·pecimcn,; of /. srfo.·1t diffrr frm!! tit!' c"a:-:ta I , HlP,-: in Ii.:, Yin~ 1111 :· . sc~1r io11 ;.; a 11d su111e \d1a · Yiolet vnl11t1 rt'( l li:·,1e:r,.: sh11: ·I !'I" t".ila11 ~11•.' 1w1licel!t,,. 111 .tddifo,n, tl1e lean·:; are mHT011·er :in l le.,;-; al'd1C':!. _ ,, Ill 111os t ra:-:t•.,; 1d1e n nn inland all< l a coa,;tal rnce are present, intcrmcdiatt·;; ,_,e,·;,r i11 thl.' lk1·i11\:( sti-nit nrca. \1 ln;rr• t he two r;1cc.,; mf'ct. In t.he c111n ncr.iti"11 ni>r,-, r 011ly typiral s,q>. interiur are en 1111 1er:\ ted. 'Jlic i 11tennecliatc forms ure t akc11 tn t-1;,.. t 11'1in ype. c\11 i1il,111d spe<.:imcn.-; ,-;el't1 l;elong to ssp. i11/1·rior, nncl repo~:t.- in litcmtnrc rrfoning t·o i11h11rl ·"L'ccimcns are t hNvfn1-c quoted 111 dcr that heading. J;,.,,i ~I X½ 1 Iris sebosa Pall . Iris sisyrinchiwn Iris sisyrinchium Subsp . interior montanwn Greene li toraie Greene . 503 'l'hl.' rolour of the flower i::; pure blue \\'it.h cfa:·kel' Y<.'i1 1s. l saw onh· ;\ fp \1· speci n1c:11 s. i11 one sput e;lo:se to CJ 111'1 la!;kn, Yi ll;1ge, with ttowcc;; of cl purp!i,:h rt\lc)IJr. In the :-: :1 111 t• p!are a sin~k:. Y<.'ry stout l'. nd pec:a!i~11· whit1.:-f10 \\'cre1l sp~icimen ,1·a;; t>olk...-tccl. .i\dthc.•1· in K a111tchatka nor .iu Alaska did l see spel.'imeu~ without. c,1· \\'ith ord_,· n~ l',V :-;ho rt, stem. but sud1 OCl;lll' in Si1J eri ,1. (f. .;P.rotina l Sisyrinchium L. (Dlue-Eycd Crass) Plant darkened in drying; leaves few, short and broad ...... 2. S. litorale Plant not darkened in drying; leaves more numerous, longer and narrower ...... l. S. mo11 tanu1n :;-;:!. Si,.rl'i11 <·hi11111 li!fornh• < :r:-r-:1-:-.: 1~ in Pittc,ni:1 ..J ( !:-i!l!IJ 1'· :::i. ,'-.'isf1i"i11d1iu,11 .\I E1.:T1-:::-.s in LitllllH:.t ..J ( I X2!)) p. Ci:L - Si.~_,,,-i,,d1iu,n r11,<·<·11s Bo~u .. \·~·~- ~i 1d,a (I s:1:-l) p. Hie i: H.oo·i- .. 'F' I. H,n·. ..\nicr. ~ (ll,+0) p. :~07 : L1m1•:H .. Fl. Rn;;:-- . ..J (l~.i:l) p. !1~: '.\J;,;1m:.:-; i:: l'roc·. 1~<:rd. Xnt. l:l<:. Phib Eio:; 1 L' l' II P at· ific Const disf.r .: 1't1h1oi;l1 Js .July 13, 1901 } 'L1-:·1-r (l1~ ); \'n:,; H,1y H O\\'l:LL J T hi:- p!ru1t is closely relnte Sisyrinchium L. (Blue-eyed grass) Plant darkened- in drying; leaves f ew, short and broad • ... •...... 2. S. Zi ~orale Plant not darkened in drying; leaves more numer~us, longer and narrower ...... : ·...... 1 . So montanwn 1 . Sisyrinchium rnontanum Greene Sisyrinchium a:ugustifoZium wit h respect to Yukon and Mackenzie plant. Tufted, not darkened in drying; leaves 1-3 nun broad; stem simple, wing-margined; spathe single; outer bract narrow and long, with margips. united 2-6 mm above base; perianth with mucronul ate-aristulate segments, blue-violet; pedicels only slightly exceeding· the inner b!act . Moi"st places. Described from southern Colorado 2 . Sisyrinchilli~ litorale Gr e ene Tufted, dar.kened in drying; leaves few, short, 3-4 mm broad, stern simple, wing margined; spathe: single; the outer short and broad. with margins united, the inner as long as pedicels or longer; perianth 12-15 mm long, with subulate-cuspidate segments. Jl1oist pl aces along shores . ****** Excerpts from WILD PLOPERS OF GREECE Published by THE ATHENS SOCIETY OF FRIENDS OF THE TREES 1965. " . . .. pale Iris attiaa . ... springs up from the poor est of rocky soils ... . this dwarf iris no more than 6 inches in height, one of the most distinctive plants of the Attic region .... The relatively largo bl ossoms .... display every shade from off-white to an ochrous-yel low and from violet to rich purple . . . . ~n1en growing near the sea, 11 the plant blooms in early February, but at higher altitudes in April or May • The l eaves are charactistically sickle shaped. There are two sharp colour photos, one of a close-up of a single plant, and another of a group of about twenty flowers, pale fellow with pl um-spotted falls, blooming in a rock-strewm turf. Figure 5 shows Iris cretiaa tucked among rocks . "Short f l owering stems arise from the grass- like foliage of tough, long narrow leaves as much as 20 inches in length. The blossoms .... are usually of a deep violet·hue, more rarely blue. This species frequents dry stoney places up to an altitude of 4500 ft." (Dykes says ')There seems to be no good reason for separting tlie Greek and Asia Minor forms of this iris. from the Algerian plant a's· distinct -species. 11 They are, therefore, usual ly considered as being part of Iris unguiouZaris - J.G.W.). The book says twelve Iris are recognized for Greece, but does not l ist them. This includes Gyna:rulriris sisyrinchium as Iris sisyrinchium, shown in Figure 7. Common to al l parts of Greece and favoring dry rocky pl aces, this plant has two slender grass- like leaves, very ·much longer than the stem. "The sky-blue flowers with a ·whitish-yellow patch at the- base of each fall make their appearance in April and May. Myriads of profusely blooming clllr.lps often r.take a remarkable sight, colouring wide expanses '.:: lue." Also included is a fine habitat shot of a group of Hermodaotyl,us t;uberosus (Figure 6) looking like over-tall Reticulatas with greenish-yellow flowers with black velvet tips to t he falls . ****** 505 A RECLASSIFICATION OF THE SIBERIA~ IRISES Lee l'J. Lentz Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Garden Claremont, California 91711 Reprinted from AL I SO , Vol. 8, No. 4, pp. J8 3-389 - September JO, 1976 Horticulturists and cytologists have long recognized that the species of Iris collectively known as the Siberian Irises are composed of two separate and distinct groups of plants which differ morphologically, cytologically, and geographically. In the most recent reclassification of the genus(Lawrence 1953) the two groups are placed in series Sibiriaae, subsection Apogon. In order to afford these two groups proper botanical recognition I hereby propose ~o recognize them as two subseries under series .Sibiriaae. In his 1932 paper, Simonet followed Dykes (1913) and used the term "Groupe Sibiriaa. 11 At the same time Simonet (1932: 380) recognized that there were two cytologically distinct groups, "Les Iris Sibiriaa se divisent en deux caryologiques: l'un an= 14, l'autre, le plus important, an= 20 comprend toutes les especies du Yunnan: d'apres R. Dykes (1923) .... " By 1934, Simonet had adopted the classification proposed by Diels (1930) and under section Apogan had: Sous-section Sibiriaae Engler (correctly Diels). n = 14 J . sibiriaa L . , I . orientaZis Thumb • (N . Kazao, 1928: M. Simonet, 1928). 2n = 40 I. De Zavayi Mich. , I. wilsoni Wright. I. forrestii Dykes, I . ehrysographes Dykes (n = 20). I. buZZeyana Dykes. In an appendix to the 1934 paper, Simonet creates a new subsection for the 40 chromosomes group: Sous-section Clirysographes M. Simonet . n 2n I. delavay.i N'dch . 20 I. buZZeyana Dykes 20 I. aZarkei Baker 40 According to Article 30, International Code of Botanicai Nomenclature (Stafleu, 1972), "In order to be c·alidly published, a name of a new taxon of plants •..•pub lished on or after 1 Jan~. 1935 must be accompanied by a latin description or diagnosis •• •• n The name Chrysographes, at the sub-sectional level and published in 1934, must, therefore, be considered as validly published. According to Article 22 of the Code, 11 When the epithet of a subdivision of a genus is identical with or derived from the epithet of one of its constituent species, this species is the type of the name of the subdivision of the genus unless the priginal author of that name designated another type." Therefore, I. ahrysographes. Although he does not specifically say so, Simonet in 1951 was undoubtedly using the names Sibiriaae, Clirysographes3 and Californioae in the same sense that he had used them in 1934, i.e., as the subsections of section Apogon. I believe that 506 his inclusion of I. dougZasiana Herb . and I. terza:c Dougl. in subsection Chrysographes was a manuscript error since he specifically names the CaZifornicae in the title and nowhere in the publication does he list any member of the CaZifornicae except I. dougZasiana and I. tena:c. Lawrence (1935) and Lawrence and Randolph (1959) were obviously unaware of Simonet's papers of 1934 and 1951 when they placed all the 'Siberian Irises 1 in seri es Sibiricae, subsection .4pogon. Werckmeister (1967): 106) in l isting 11 Apogon, Sibiricae" and 11Apogon., Chryso graphes~ 11 failed to follow Article 21 of the Code which states that "The name of a subdivision of a genus is a combination of a generic name and a subdivisional epithet connected by a term (subgenus, section, series, etc.) denoting its rank." By quo ting' Simonet's 1951 paper it must be assumed that Werckmeister was accepting Simonet's disposition of the groups, i .e. , Sibiricae and Chrysographes as subsections of section Apogon. KEY TO TEE SUPSERIES OF IRIS SE.R,IES SIBIRICAE 1. Spathe valves more than 5 cm long; flanges at the base of the sepals large, tops of capsules spiked; capsules thin walled; n = 20 ( where lmovm) •. . .' . . . • ...... subseries C'hPysographes 2. Spathe valves short; flanges at base of sepals small; tops of capsules blunt; capsules thick walled; n = 14 • ••• ...... •. • . . . . subseries Sibiricae l, IRIS subseries Chrysographes (Simonet) Lenz, stat nov. Iris subsect.Chrysographes Simonet, A."'111 . Sci. Nat . Bot . Ser. 10, 16: 371, 1934 (basionym) Iris sect. Limniris Tausch, pro parte, Hort. Canalius, I , 1823; and Tausch, in Schultes; Assitamentum Mantissum, II, p . 369$ 1824. Iris subgen. Limniris (Tausch) Spach, pro parte; Ann . Sci. Nat. Bot. Ser. 3, 5: 99, 1846; and Hist. Nat. Veg., XIII, p. 36-37. 1846 . Iris subsect. Sibiricae Diels, pro parte, Engler und Pranti, Die naturl. Pflanzenfam. , Aufl . 2, 15a: 501, 1930. Iris series Sibiricae (Diels) Lawr., pro parte, Gentes Herb. 8: 359, 1953 Type species: Iris cmysographes Dykes Iris chrysographes Dykes, Gard . Chron. Jrd ser., 49: J62, 1911. Iris bulleyana Dykes,. Garden Chron. , 3rd ser. , 47: 418, 1910. I . cZarkei Baker, Handbook Irideae, p. 25 , 1892. I. ·aeZavayi Mich., Rev. Hort. 67: 398-399, 1895 I . dyksii 0 . Stapf, Bot. Mag. 160: t. 9282, 1932 I. forrestii Dykes, Gard. Chron. Jrd ser., 47: 418, 1910 I. phra.gmitetorum Handel-1.ifazzetti, Anz . .Akad. Wiss., Vienna 62 : 241, 1925 I . 1uiZsonii C.H. Wright, Kew Bull, 1907: 321, 1907 2, IRIS subseries Sibiricae (Diels) Lenz, stat. nov. Iris subsect. Sibiriaae Diels, pro pa.rte, Engler und Pranti, Die naturl, Pflanzenfam, Aufl. 2, 15a : 501, 1930. (basionym) Iris sect. Limniris Tausch, pro parte, Hort. Canalius, I, 1823; and Tausch, in Schultes, Addi tamentum 1-fantissum, II, p. 369, 1824. Iris subgen. Limniris (Tausch) Spach, pro parte, Ann. Sci. Nat. Bot., Ser. 3, _5: 99, 184.6; and Hist. Nat. Veg. XIII, p. 36-37, 1846 Iris series Sibiricae (Diels) Lawrence, pro parte, Gentes Herb . 8: 359, 1953. Type species: Iris sibirica · I. sibirica L., Sp. Plant.~ ; ed. 1, p. 39, 1753 I. sanguinea Donn, Hort·. Cant., ed. 5, I, p. 17, 1811 507 LITERATURE CITED Diels, L. 1930. Iridaceae, pp. 463-505. In A. Engler und K. Prantl, Die naturl ichen Pflanzenfamilien, Zweite Aufl. Band 15a, Wilhelm Engelmann, Leipzig. Dykes, W.R. 1913. 'The Genus Iris. The University Press, Cambridge . 245p. 1923L'hybridization chez led Iris, pp. 68- 73 In Les Iris cultives. Actes et C9mptes-Rendus de la lse Conference Internationale des Iris tenue a Paris en 1922. Lawrence, G.H.M. 1953. A reclassification of the genus Iris. Gentes Herb. 8: 346-371. -----, and L.F. Randolph. 1959 . The classification of Irises, pp. 133-160. In L.F. Randolph (ed), Garden Irises. The American Iris Society, St. Louis tti.ssouri. Simonet, M. 1932. Recherches cytologiques et genetiques chez les Iris. Bull. Hort. France Belgique 105: 255-444. , 1934. · Nouvelles recherches cytologiques et genetiques chez les Iris. Ann. Sci. Nat. Bot. Ser. 10, 15: 229- 383. -----, 1951. Sur la meiose de quelques hybrides d'Iris Apogon. I. Hybrides Sibiricae, Chrysographes~ CaZifornicae et Setoaae. Comp. Rend. Hebd. Seances Acad. Sci. 233: 1665-1667. Stafleau, F.A. (chm. ed. comm . ) 1972. International Code of Botanical Nomenclature. Regnum Veg. 82; 1-426. V/erclaneister, P. 1967 . Catalogus Iridis 1967; Narnen und Synonyme des Genus Iris .. (Deutsche Iris- und Liliengesellschaft e . V., Jahrbuch 1967, Teil II) Deutsche Iris- Liliengesellschaft e . V. Leonberg bei Stuttgart 160 pp. ******* THE RANGE PLANT HANDBOOKJ USDA 1937 WlOO , Reported here that fibres of I. tenax were used by the Indians in making snares and nets, much the same as I. missouriensis was used. I. missouriensis is worthless as a forage plant, but may be an indication of overgrazing "as its robust underground rootstalks enable it to withstand trampling and to spread rather rapidly when other vegetation is weakened. This species, when once extensively est ablished, greatly retards revegetation of the range by more palatable plants . It is a good soil binder, but originally grew in moist soils which were potentially capable of supporting other plants of equal soil-holding qualities and .of greater forage value." THE BROOKLYN BOTANIC C-ArillEN H.A.l'IDBOOK 11 11 Dye Plants and Dyeing , 1964 11 Rhizomes of the yellow-flowered Iris pseuda.corus .. .• give a black dye that is much in demand in the OUTER HEBRIDES." Grace Carter of Hood River, Oregon, and I have both tried this, but neither of us has been able to get anything stronger than a soft gray colour. However, a mess of chopped up rhizomes that I left sitting in a coffee can on the back steps turned as black as ink, so the dyeing properties are obviously present--we were merely short on knowledge of proper methods. J.A.W. ****** 508 OUT OF TH E PAST My Rock Garden :ey REGI NAL FE~REP.r published by EDt1:'ARC AR.i"IOLD, London, 1911 Extracts hy JE.Z\.N WITT p. 279. "Is there such a thing as an ugly Iris? Less pretty ones ther e may be; but uglies--perish the thought! There are Irises for every soil and situation too--Spanish Irises and English for sunny borders, and German Irises for everywhere, even London, and Orchroleuca Irises for the bog, and Cristata Irises for the r ock work and Oncocyclus Irises for the Kingdom of Heaven! Don't let anyone tell me they are of any permanent real place on earth. A high, proud race are the Oncocyclus Irises-·-a domed, tragic l i ne, in crapes and blacks and purples , sweepi ng by on their road to the grave. They belong to a bygone day, and none can marvel at their somber glories without feeling that they are mourners at their own funeral--a s2.d, lonely group, royal to the last, but swiftly, sternly passing away from the world. And so (for my garden is a marriage-bed, not a buri al-ground, if I can help it) I will have none of the Oncocyclus Irises; ·let other s tend these agonising princessses;. and enjoy what brief triumphs they can (a triumph that, of course, is longer and brighter where the sun is hot and winters dry,. than where the.sun at the best is only warm and the winters damp as Niobe ): while, ' for my part, not liking sick-beds, I stand out against spoiling my garden by glass frames and fir boughs and all the elaborate medicaments that must be ready for the need of t he Oncocyclus. 11 p . 281 "But, t o leave this doubtful territory, the rock- garden owes most to the genuine dwarf Irids, of whom the true Iris pumila is t he commonest and still the most unfailingly val uable . Pumila you will see along the Mediterranean coast, where I have found its almost invisible runners and its immense violet blossoms sitt ing apparently on the ground, among grass and rocks round St. Raphael. In cultivation this l ittle creature--which makes up in the awful length of its whi p-like roots for any moderation it may show in the matter of foliage--likes a sunny place bed or border, in any sound warm soil. There it runs about making mats of neat foliage, and then bearing its colossal flowers abundantly in early summer. (ED: I wonder if what he is really r eferring to is I. ahamaeris). Ther e is a white form, very rare, which I have not got; a most exquisite az_ure- blue one; an i mproved purple- PURPLE KING, or something; and a pale grey one called graciZis which is deliciously f ragrant. And all these, and any others there may be, are worth collecting i n the very highest degree. . "Iris mellita, is quite a new little per son of the Pumila persuasion which I imported from Servia (ED ; old name for Serbia) some seasons since , on t he chance of being good, and good he is, indeed, very remarkably so--a tiny dwarf plant, very floriferous and free-growing with:Large Pumila flowers, of a deep coppery-bronze colour, with blue and purple in the beard. He has, too, the rather uncommon pecul iarity of bearing without human agency; and altogether, makes me feel very satisfied ~rith that particular importation. As far as cultivation goes it follows Pwni"la; but is 1•ather more sensitive, I find, to wet , rotting winter s, although he is quite hardy and recovers as soon as he feels certain that spring is come. P. 282 "Iris tectorwn, in my eyes, stands far above all the other I rises, even above lacustris and gracilipes. but tectorum is supreme.:. absolutely.,, in his own a lass, which is that of the medium-sized Irises . He grows abundantly on the thatch- . ed roofs of Japanese cottages, and for some undiscoverable reason has always been ·treated with quit e unreasonable distrust and ca.re in England. Import your plants from the frost-ridden Tokio (another old word for Tokyo) Plain, as I had the luck to :509 do, and you will find that Iris tectorwn is as incorruptibly hardy as any German Iris that ever throve in a London square. (This is the great secret of import ing Japanese plants. Get them from the coldest districts, not from the south). Another thing ·to remember is that he will thank you richly for rich feeding; all Irises are dowered with a sturdy appetite for good old rotten manure . .And, with this Iris teatorum will go ahead forever on any well-drained exposed corner of the rockery. The flowers are of an unusual beauty even among Irises; the falls broad and undul ating, the standards large and spreading, so that t he flower is freer and more graceful in build than the convential Flower-de-luce form that you get in the German Irises . .And the colour is of a wonderful soft crystal blue, dappled all over with a deeper shade; and in consistency and tones has the same waved azure that you get ~n a healtry bloom of Vanda oa.reula in a good variety. The Iris flower too, has a great jagged blue and white crest along each fall, which adds to the wild elegance of its design. The white variety is as beautiful as it is rare, and the blue one is only a trifle less beautiful than the clear softness of the type .• ••. it is just possible that this year may coax a flower out of one or two seedlings that I have raised between teotorum album and florentina .... if only one can couple the free ~abit and unquestioned weedlike hardiness of jlorentina (to say nothing of its beauty) with the fairy-like loviness of teotorwn album, both for shape and colour, a truly notable offspring should result •... as should also develop from my other promising cross of the deep-blue tectorum with the intense violet Kochii. 11 p.283uiris oristata is quit e dwarf and wonderfully beaut iful, with small rhizomes _ :that like to ~m freely about over sunny, stony soil, and then bless you with very large flowers, delicately built, and of a lovely china-blue, with a brilliant shaggy beard of gold. 1'l\Ore brilliant even than this is Iris lacustris, and also much rarer. Lacustris is a miniature oristata., ideal for the choice rock-garden, making tidy mats of rhizome, with big blue and gold flowers, deeper in colour than those of aristata. I have t wo splendid clumps of lacustris on the rockwork which were put out rather in despajr--for none of these irises are happy in pots, their roots being too hungary--but which, as soon as they v1ere thus emancipated, set to V/Ork growing with the most prodigal generosity, and are now only kept in check by the embittering affections of slugs, to escape which they go flopping down over the rock-faces, besides developing everywhere else as well. Of all my little irises, though, Iris graciZipes is queen--a grassy-growing thing, forming a tuft, but never spreading along the ground, with three or four flowers carried on airy stems five inches high or so • .And these flowers are, in shape, miniatures of the half-hardy fiZbriata (Now I. japonica Ed.) with spreading bold falls and tiny standards. But in build aiid colouring they are mor e exquisite than most things seen outside a dream, cut from the filmiest soft pale-blue silk, ~rumpled into a half dozen different lights and tones, with a deeper eye surrounding the pale lined blotch, and following along the crest. I had often seen it for sale in Japanese gardens, but had no notion of where it was to be found wild. However, we went northwest, and alighted by the way to see the famous islands of Matsushima, above Sendai, on the west coast. Up on the wooded hills, bursting through the thickets where Pyrolas were showing, I came out on a westerly clearing from which they had cut all the hazels and undergrovrth, just as they clear it in England . .And there, as Primroses grow in such a place in England, was I. graciZipes, abounding all dovm the slope in the soft rotten soil, but not anywhere else except on that one open bank. Believe not such as tell you that he is half-hardy. No such thing. Without protect ion of any kind he bears the coldest and wettest winters here. Give him rich veget able soil, light and well-drained, and he will teach you what beauty can be when it likes. Every autumn the grovrths die back to the stock, which develops into a fan of close-set rhizomes; but then, in spring, each shoot throws up its grassy leaves again, and soon the leaders are thinking about their frail exquisite flov1er-stems . 11 ******* 510 INTERESTI~G EITS AND PIECES Jean Witt In their headquarters near Independance Square in Philadelphia, the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society put on a fine display of books and drawings on early Am erican horticulture in honor of the bicentennial. There was no chance to examine things in any detail, \Jut I snatched the following notes on early iris growers. Bernard r•.i'Mahon , who was a seedsman of Philadelphia, listed Dwarf Persian Iris (Iris persiaa) in 1802. He has a seed store on a Second Street, below Market St. Noted American botanists axe said to have met regularly in his shop to consult M'Mahon and exchange research data. He developed many seeds and plants including those brought back by the Lewis and Clark expedition. Mahonia, the Oregon Grape, is named after him. D. and C. Landreth, at their nurseries and garden in Philadelphia in 1832, listed Iris cristata, I. c:uprea (now I . fulva), I. versiaolor, I. virginiaa, I. aaerulea~ I. susiana, and others unspecified . We also visited the garden of John Bartram (1699-1777), the Quaker farmer turned botanist and collector, who established the first botanic garden in America in 1728. A drawing of his father's garden made by William Bartram in 1758 shows a large clump of irises in a lower corner; certainly one of the earliest records of iris as a garden plant in the U.S. Since the property fronts on the Schuylkill River, I speculated that this might have been the native I. versicotor growing on the riverbank, but though I looked quite carefully, I could see no sign of any iris there today; pollution and disturbance must have done it in a long time ago. A flower garden by the house is being restored with plants known to have been grown by Bartram, but so far no iris are included in it. The old stone house, designed and built by John Bartram in 1731 is rather more interesting than the garden in its present state of restoration. But the thing that really fascinated me was the Pcider press", a circular groove cut in the sandstone outcrop down by the river- it looked exactly like the arrastre at the ghost town of Blewett, Washington, which was used to grind gold ore in the 1860 1 s! We were amused by the instructions from Peter Collinson to John Bartram in 1734 ;or sending seeds to England; "A great many (seeds) may be put in a box .••. a foot in earth is enough. rThis may be put under the Captain's bed ...• or set in the cabin if it is sent in October or Novemb er. Nail a few small narrow laths across it to keep .1:he cats from scratching it." A further bit about Iris tridentata: in the National Horticulture Magazine for April, 1930, p.99, B.Y. Morrison says; "Its standards are so small they are scarcely visible between the style branches. 11 He considered this species hardy at Washington, D.C. \ i I \ Seedpot of Iris tridentata I \ I \ ,/ 1 - 1½ 11 high and about 1 11 wide. ( ****** .511 Tll 1-, lEIOG RiJ-r'.Y CF IiUSES M.me B. Foucault What is bibliography? A long list of author I s nane·s and works mentioned at the end of a treatise and in which the author has found material for his work. Such an enumeration would be utterly boring and I believe it would be much better to attempt to show the evolution of our knowledge on Irises through the works that have followed each other on the subject. If we wish to go very far back, we can safely state that literature on Irises goes as far back as Greek mythology. Iris was, for the Greeks, the daughter of Thaumus and Electra and the messenger of the Gods of Olympus. She crossed the Heavens in a flash leaving only on a cloudy and stormy sky the trace of her multi- coloured scarf: the rainbow •. What ancient peoples demanded of botany was utilitarian, the properties of plants were of interest only because of the use they could be put to and particular ly from the -medical point of view. Hippocrates, Theophrastes, Galen, mention the medical properties of the Iris. The Orphic Rites in the }zysteries of Eleusis as told us by Pliny in his NATURAL HISTORY, presided over the gathering of an Iris rhizome for medical use. Pliny describes this ~peration: "He who wishes to gather a rhizome must during these months pour hydromel 'around it in order to appease the Gods of the Earth by this offering; then with the point of his sword, he will draw three circles around it and then, but then only, will he be allov,ed to take up the rhizome which he will raise towards Heaven as an offering, concentrating his thoughts on the person he wishes to cure. 11 Orpheus indicated more precisely that the lifting should be done at night during a full moon, the performer being physically and mentally pure and clothed in white. The Greek doctor Dioscorides in his MATERIA 1\IBDICA, first century A.D. mentions iris rhizome as a remedy against a great number of aiJJnents such as: cough, colitis and even snake bite. According to Charles Joret in LES PLANTES DANS L'ANTIQUITE, published in 1897, Iris sibirioa was used by the ancient Egyptians to make wreaths. . All these writers agreed that the most highly prized iris was that from Illyria** which we would today call Iris germaniaa, but as early as the 13th Century we find in the writings of the Italian agronomist Crescenzi a mention of a white Iris, how to grow it and preserve its rhizomes. , . . In 1529 Valerius Cordus in his DISPENSATORIUM, mentions explicitly the Iris tz,orentina and indicates that the drug of Florence has replaced that from Illyria. * Hydromel: Mixture of honey and water. Hydro : water. Mel : honey ** Illyria: Site of present day Albania , or east coast of the Adriatic. 512 In 1655 Mattioli in his COMMENT.ARIES ON DIOSCORIDES indicates that the plant was naturalized in Tuscany as early as the middle of the 16th century. In spite of this, the iris is little known and we thus find Charles de l'Obel or Lobelius writing in 1576 in STIRPIUM ADVERSARIA NOVA, published in Antwerp: "Today this flower, although so common, is not given its proper name in most countr ies: the Germans call it GiZgen, the Flemish SahwerteZ, the Italians and Spandiards LiZiwn, the French Lys or GZaieuZ, because of the close similarity that unites these three flowers . " The Renaissance was to give it back its Greek name, Iris, and in 1591 the same Lobelius in his ICONES STIRPIUM SEU PLANTARUM TAM EXOTICARUM QUAM INDIGENARUM, also published in Antwerp, attempted a first classification of the genus Iris, describ ing 8 bulbous and 20 rhizomatous irises. In 1601 Charles de l'Ecluse, a Flemish botanist, in a work entitled RARIORUM PLANTARUM HISTORIA, describes twenty bearded irises. But to find a first attempt at a classification of the genus we must wait until 1701 when M.J.P. de Tournefort published in Paris his work entitled INSTITUTIONED REI HERBARIAE. This work was to be the basis of the first treatise by Linnaeus,· published in Stockholm in 1753, entitled SPECIES PLAHTARUM, and in which he divides the genus into four main groups: Xiphiwn, Sisyrinchiwn, Hermodac-t;yZus and Iris. In a ..later edi tion of this same work published in 1797 under the same title, Linnaeus describes 54 species of Iris divided into five groups and it may be of interest to mention this classification: a. Bearded Iris with ensiform leaves b. Bearded Iris with l i near leaves c. Beardless Iris with ensiform leaves d. Beardless Iris with linear leaves e . Beardless Iris with tetragonal leaves In 1739, Monsieur de la Quintinye, Director of the King's Fruit and Vegetable Gardens, published a TRAITE DES FLEURS in which, Vol. II, Chap. 24, he lists 66 varieties of iris. In 1759 Philip Miller in his GARDENER'S DICTIONARY disagreed with the ·class ification of Linnaeus and separated the bulbous irises from the rhizomatous, reestab lishing the genus Xiphiu~. FAI...ULLE DES PLANTES, published in 1763 by Adanson goes back to the classificat ion of Tournefort, but makes a few changes, for instance, the genus Xiphiwn becomes ChamoZetta., the genus Iris being reserved for rhizomatus irises with bearded falls, whilst the others formed the genus Xuris . Changes follow changes, but very few have left their mark. Medicus in 1790 in his DIVERSE FLORUM STRUCTURA RESPECTU COROLLARUM creates six new genera, today forgotten. Nineteen other genera will thus be created with varying success. R.A. Salisbury working on the finds of philip Miller, published in the REPORTS OF THE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY in 1812, an article entitled ON THE CULTIVATION OF RARE PLANTS ESPECIALLY SUCH AS HAVE BEEN INTRODUCED SINCE THE DEATH OF PHILIP MILLER, and creates a special genus for irises with a crest, the genus Evansia. Trattinik in his SYSTEMA VEGETABILIUM, published in Stuttgart in 1817, creates the genus Juno . 513 l )(][;' ... Siemssens in 1846, in an article of ·the BOTANISCHE ZEITUNG creates the genus Oncoqy9Ju~ . .- ..- - e;J·I _c-! _; · ~ .. . ., Parlatore. in 1854 in his NUOVI GENER.I ET NUOVI SPECIE DI PLANTI MONOCOTILEDONI published in Fiorence, creates the genus Gynaru:lriris. ~~t tt. is only in 1877 that we can speak of an overall classification with the work 9f J,.G;:_, J?,~!,(er eriti tled SYSTEMA IRIDACEARUM. The English botanist goes back to the cl9:ss_ification of Tournefort, placing however, Iris sisyrinohiwn in the Moraeas and including the Dietes in the iris group. In-1882 the German botanist F.W. IG.att published a study on SYSTEMA IRIDACEARUM by Baker, in which he distributes the Irises in seven different genera. Iris Evansia, OnaoaycZus, Hermodaci;yZus, Juno and Xiphiwn; Sisyrinohiwn remains a Moraea . In +892 Baker revised his SYSTEM'A IRIDACEAltUM and published in London the HANDBOOK -OF THE IRIDACEA, in which he combined all the genera he had defined in his work of 1877 into one single genus, the genus Iris, divided into 31 sections. In passing we may note an article published in 1885 in the GARDENER'S CHRONICLE under the signature of Sir Michael Foster entitled THE RETICULATA GROUP OF IRIS. This article was to be followed in 1892 by the important work of the same author, entitled BULBOUS IRISES, which paved the way for the great monograph of the genus Iris by William Rickatson Dykes, THE GENUS IRIS, published in 1913 by the Cambridge University Press. The classification by Dykes is similar to Baker's in 1877 with the addition of two new sections: The RetiauZata, section extracted from the Xiphiwn section in line with the work of Sir Wd.chael Foster in 1885 and the NepaZenses section removed from the Evansia section. This classification by Dykes was to be criticised and even modified. It is not so much for his classification that the work of Dykes is important, but rather for the descriptions of extreme accuracy from the botanical point of view, and it is to ~e regretted that this work has not been reprinted, for it is unfortunately impossible to find copies of it today. .• 1904 ·i$ another important date in the bibliography of the Iris, as it brings us to the first American work on the subject THE BOOK OF THE IRIS by R. Irwin Lynch. In 1907 MM . H. Correvon and H. Masse published in Paris a work entitled LES IRIS DANS LES JARDINS. The Societe Nationale d'Horticulture de France, at the insistance of M. Philippe L. de Vilmorin decided on the 11th of June 1910, to organize in 1915 a conference specially consecrated to the Iris. Unfortunately the first World War broke out and the conference had to be postponed and more unfortunately still M. Philippe de Vilmorin did not come back. Nevertheless, in 1921 Monsieur Motter, to be precise on the 25th of May 1921, filed a note in his own name recalling this project and asking for the convening of a confer ence for the year 1922 to mark the centenary of obtaining the first varieties of garden irises by M. de bure in 1822 . The convention was held at international level with the collaboration of world authorities on the subject, and the Societe Nationale d'Horticulture de France published in 1923 an account of the meetings under the t itle LES IRIS CULTIVES. · Following the work of Mr . Irwin Lynch, the Americans had developed an interest in irises and this interest permitted the foundation of the American Iris Society during the first World War. A nevr impulse was thus given to the growing of irises and ~ above all to botanical research on the subject. 514 In 1922 W. Stager published a book entitled TALL BEARDED IRIS, A FLOWER OF SONG, followed in 1927 by another work by John C. Wister entitled THE IRIS, but more exhaustive r esearch on structures has to be carried out before any real progress could be made and I must here pay tribute to a pioneer of this research, despite his well-known modesty; I refer to Professor Marc Simonet whose research has contributed more than any other to the benefit of the genus Iris. In the .America..~ Iris Society Bulletin, A.E. Longley ~Tote about chromosomes in Iris species and Simonet in a communication to the Societe Biologique discussed the number of chromosomes in plants within the Genus Iris. F'rom 1928 onwards, Prof. Simonet in France and Mr. A.E . Longley in the U.S.A devoted themselves to the study of chromosomes and published the r esult s of their research. In 1929, in a new communication to the Academy of Science, M. Simonet published his latest findings on the number of chromosomes in the garden iris, Iris germaniaa Hort.; and the same year in LES ANNALES DE LA SOCIETE HATIONALE D'HORTICULTURE DE FRANCE , he followed it up with a cytological study on some hybrids of the Pogoniris section . In 1932 M. Simonet published in the BULLETIN BIOLOGIQUE DE FRANCE ET DE BELGIQUE a study on cytological and genetical research on the Iris, shortly followed by a communication to the Academy of Sci ence of a study on the chromatic reduction and the perfect pollinic constitution of a hybrid between species with an inequality and aneuploidy of chromosomes, and as a result of this study M. Simonet created the strange Autosyndetica group of irises. These s tudies culuminated in a thesis pub lished in Paris in 1934 entitled NEW CYTOLOGICAL AND GENETICAL RESEARCH ON IRISES. We may state that M. Simonet's work has laid the foundation for hybridization between species and has thereby permitted the creation of the varieties which we can today admire. M. Simonet' s findings have been confirmed by those of Dr. Randolph and lvfr . Jyotirmay Mitra i n the United States since 1944 . A lalowledge of the intimate life of the iris cell in its different species enabled us to make crosses which are no longer the result of chance, but are practical ly scientific operations and none of the books published in recent years fail to mention chromosomes . The post-war period saw the blooming not only of magnificent irises., but the advent of mariY authoritive works on this subject. Owing to the impetus given by specializedh_ocieties, more and more amateurs have devoted their time and efforts to improving our beloved flower. It was fitti ng that the oldest, the .Amer ican Iris Society, which today is the most important by its numbers, as well as qy the diversity of its members, should introduce some order into the chaos of ~chievements by professionals as well as amateurs, and we duly render homage to the work done by this society in registering the numerous varieties and the publication of the lists of new hybrids. The CHECK LISTS OF REGISTERED CULTIVAR NAMES is really magnificent. · Specialized societies bulletins arc also an important bibliographical source and as early as 1920 the first bulletin of the American Ir is Society appeared, followed in 1924 by the first bulletin of t he British Iris Society, which had the ~ rit of being edited by R.W. Dykes . The year 1924 moreover saw the publication of · V/ .R. Dykes' work entitled THE HANDBOOK OF GARDEN IRISES, which is r eally a summary of his GENUS IRIS, but is nevertheless of considerable interest to the Iris enthusiast. The great number of books on the subject compels us, unfortunately, to proceed to this listing we so deprecated at the outset, but nesessity has no law and we must aub;nit. Rolland, 1920, J .F.Ch. Dix published IRISSEN. U.S .A. , 1931, J .M. Schl,lll published RAINBOW FRAGfviENTS. 515 19,32. the British Iris Society published an anthology of articles by W.R. Dykes published in several horticultural reviews under the title of DYKES ON IRIS. 1937, IRIS CULTURE FOR .LUAATEURS by L.F . Pesel and R.E. S. Spender, 1946, Mrs . Gwendolyn Anley, IRISES, THEIR CULTURE AND SELECTION. 1947, THE IRIS, AN IDEAL HARDY PERENNIAL, an anthology of articles written by members of the American Iris Society. 1949, IRIS FOR E\FERY GARDEN, by Sidney B. Mitchell. 1950, THE IRIS, by Leslie N. Cave, followed by a second edition in 1959, and by another work in 1960 entitled IRISES FOR EVERYONE. 1950; 'l\vo American horticulturista inserted in their Iris catalogues interesting notes for hybridizers: Lloyd Austin; IRIS MANUAL and Tell Muhlestein; NOTES FOR HYBRIDIZERS. 1954, HALF A CENTURY OF IRIS by J. McKee and J.R. Harrison. 1956, TALL BEARDED IRISES by Nicolas Moore. 1957, IRISES FOR YOUR GARDEN by H.G. Witham Fogg . The Royal General Bulb Growers Society of Haarlem published a REGISTER OF BULBOUS IRISES. 1960, IRIS in Italian by Dr. G. I. Sani and Mrs. F. Specht Goretti. 1961, IRISES by Mrs. Judith M. Berrisford. 1961 IRIS CULTURE AND HYBRIDIZING FOR EVERYONE by Mrs . Wilma L. Valette • . 1961. In a work entitled COLLINS GUIDE TO BULBS, Mr . Patrick Synge devoted a long chapter to Irises. Vie cannot omit the considerable work of Mr. A.C . Herrick on behalf of the British Iris Society in his .ALPHABETICAL TABLE OF THE GENUS IRIS, which is shortly to be revised and enlarged. From the antipodes came the book of Mrs. Jean Stevens, THE IRIS AND ITS CULTURE, published in New Zealand in 1952 . .Among the more specialized works we may mention: G.H.M .. Lawrence: A RECLASSIFICATION OF THE GENUS IRIS. Dr. G.I. Rodionenko THE GENUS IRIS, 1961 (in Russian) a summary of which appears· in the British Iris Society Year Book of 1962. A.H •. Blaauw: DE PERIODIEKE ONT\VIKKELING VAN EEN BOLIRIS ( I. Xiphiu.m Praecox var. Imperator), published in Holland in 1935 with a summary in French. Dr. G.A. Kamerbeek: RESPIRATION OF THE IRIS BULB IN RELATION TO THE TEMPERATURE AND THE GROWTH OF THE PRDvfORDIA, published in Holland in 1962 with an English translation. Dr. Peter Werckmeister : 1952, EMBRYOKULTURVERSUCHE ZUR FRAGE DES KEIMVERZUGES VON IRISSAMEN AUS DER SEKTION RegeUa FOSTER: 1955: UBER EINE CHEMISCHE METHODE, DOMINAN'.IWEISSE UND REZESSIV-WEISSE HOHE GARTENIRIS ZU UNTERSCHEIDEN; 1950: LYCOPIN IN BLUTEN UND EIN VORSCHLAG FUR EINEN TEST AUF LYCOPIN: 1962: STUDIEN UBER DIE KUNSTLICHE AUFZUCHT VON EMBRYONEN AUSSERHALB DES SAlvrES IN DER GATTUNG Iris L. Dr . Lee W. Lenz: HYBRIDIZATION AND SPECIATION IN THE PACIFIC COAST IRISES; CYTOLOGY OF THE Spuria IRISES AND ORIGIN OF THE GARDEN VARIETIES: A REVIEW OF THE PACIFIC COAST IRIS. C.M. Reed: SOUTHERN U.S. IRIS SPECIES AND HYBRIDS; HYBRIDS OF Iris fu'lva AND Iris foZiosa; THE IRISES OF JAPAN . In the Japanese language Dr. K. Tomino presents STUDIES ON THE GENUS IRIS IN JAPAN, ESPECIALLY CY".l'OTAXONOMY OF THE GENUS AND BREEDING OF THE Iris eneata, and Dr. S. Hirao's work entitled IRIS KAEMPFERI. M. Marc Simonet QUELQUES HYBRIDES .AMPHIDIPLOIDES ENTRE ESPECES DE SECTIONS OU SOUS-SECTIONS DIFFERENTES DANS LE GENTRE IRIS. (1962) All questions pertaining to the genus Iris are dealt with in a treatise of great botanical, as well as horticultural importance, which has recently been published by the American Iris Society entitled GARDEN IRISES, edited by Dr. L.F. Randolph in 1959 . 516 This bi"oliography would not be compl ete if we did not mention the vital contrib uations of the specialized societies which each month, each quarter, each semester or each ;year, bring their stone ·to the building and thereby increase the knowledge available to every Iris enthuiast. These specialized societies, by means of their bulletins, their newsletters and their Year Books, are the livil1€igibiliograpby of today, as well as that of tomorrow; they bring together knowledge which is seminated to make out of it all a coherent whole; they prepar·e the futtu·e and link it to the past on which they do not hesitate to draw. We must also consider the bulletins of the American Iris Society, as well as those of its sections and affiliated societies: A:ril Society, International; Spuria Society; Dwarf Iris Society; Median Iris Society; Society for Siberian Irises; Society for Louisiana Irises, and the articles which they publish; we must also mention the highly scientific papers frequentl y published in the British Iris Society' s Year Book or the bulletins and the Year Book of the Deutsche Iris- und Lillien-Cesellschaft, wher0 we find the opinions of foremost International experts on the subject. Apart from those mentioned above, Iris societies publishing bulletins exist in Italy, in South Africa, in Australia, in New Zealand and in France. It is the task of these societies to create an ever expanding bibliography, in harmony with the progress of Science and Nature. Reprinted from the REPORT OF '!HE FIRST I NTERNATIONAL SYMPOSIUM ON IRIS, 1963. EV: Af..:thou9h. .tlu6 bibU091La.phy a.ppecvu, .t.o be.. 6ewrJ!.tJ c.ompte.:te., U J.ihou?d be. conti.lde11.ed :that M..•me.. Bougau.lt wa.6 pell.ha.po beJ-.,:te/1. inoOll,me.d Oft even. b,<,.a.6e.d :towo.Jtel6 the wolliv., 06 EuJWpea.n. au:thoM, .ln pa/l.t.lc.ulalc. the. F1tencJ.t. M-lnoJt wo1th M mentioned -ln ,60me ca.6e6 and ma.jolt. wo11.lv., 06 o:th.eJL c.oun:tlue6 omi.tied. Nc;;Jt:tfi AmeJUca. and Japan Me cMe6 whe/1.e. mo1te c.onti-ldeJLa..tum ;.,houtd ha.ve been g-lven. Pe11.h.a.pt, jU6:t a.n oveM-i.gh:t. COMMENTS Ve.AA EdU01t: 1 would .to.k.e. mild exception to the. woll.Cl6 11We.' ve no:t pMgll.e.6.6ed 1>0 ve/1.y 6M a.6:te/1. a.U." -ln. a.t.temp:U .to unde!L6ta.nd the Genu.6 1>-lnc.e 1878 (S,lgna., ·.top p. 408). Heaven oOll.b-ld! T!U/2 Wa,{) .ln. Baiz.ell. I Jj ;tune. benoll.e muc.h even on Sur. Mic.ha.et . FMi.eJt T.6 woltk ha.d c.ome. :to pa.6f.>, a.nd .tluJc.:ty-6,i,ve ye.o.lL6 µtuolt :to pu.bUc.a.:tlon. of, .the :(,-i.Jr/2:t totally a.c.c.epta.b.te. c.o nc.ep:t>J< o6 :the many fundl.i o6 JAM e6 a.nd :tJie,iJz. 1te£.a;ti,6 Yi6lup.6 (a.bou..t wluc.h we. l>uil Me not to:to.Uy in a.g1te.emen.:t). Whe.n the. 6oil.ow.lng co'111.ew..onti & ad.cLUi.on.6 Me. ma.de :to p. 409, Lt mlght. c.onueva.bly fta.ve bee.n oJtom a.ny one 06 f.a.-6:t Sunda.y'1> GaJui.en. Co.tumn.6 Cl6 lte.6.tec.ting modeJLn. fuwwledge. 06 .Mme.. Itu.1>C¼ - -bu.:t only the.n. The/1.e Me. ina.c.c.uJr.a.c_,le1>/.i..na.dequ.a.ue1> :to a:t J!.ea1d 13 01) the. 21 c.Lta.u.onti quoted! .SWLety no:t a. veJttJ ,<.mp.lLC¼J.iive pe/1.c.entage.? · Iris nudiaau.Zis, along wU!t a. ho.61.: of, o.thelt.6 06 the 1.>a.me. da.y, ,u., now Jte.gaJui.ed a1., among the. muttltud.e 06 6011.m.6 06 the polymonpluc. I. aphyUa; a.U:hough the. Me.d,i,a.n Iw Soue:ty le.anti towaJu:l.6 wanting :to allow U a1.> a "good11 .6peue6, U .6e.em.6 not :to a.ppe.all. in the,iJz. pub.u.c.a..tlonti on .tha;t .60/tt 06 :dung. 06 otheJL pagon.6, the 6oWL, Amoena., Fforenti.nas Germanic:x a.ndPUaataj the 6JM.:t :thJr.ee. Me. now conti-ldeJte.d :to have a/U.6en a.6 h!fblvi..d.6 a.nd the11.e.601te. no;t ;to be. "good 11 -6pec.-le1>; the. hu,;t Ylaime.d ,u., a. 60/LJil dajved 6Mm I. paUida. Wlu.e.e. the. :teJr.m.6 11P..Uc.a.:ta. 11 and "Amoe.na" now popuialr.ly · apply to tipe.c.i..a.e. c.0£.oWL ci.a.6.6. I. germaniaa, i6 6ound in Ge1Lart11ty, -i..6 tlte/1.e only tit/tough ,£.;t,,6 ha.vb1.g be.en a. CLti.:,t,i.,va:ted pla.n.t. 517 06 tiie. Sputua..6, I . aurea ,i)., now c.ori1t.e.cfttj lc.Jwwn a.6 I. orooea (a. ptu01t -nQ71e.), and U ca.me. .to uJ.>--no.t r,Mm GeJUnany, bu;t 6Mm oa.JLaJ..OatJ whnwt. The. 1tel.a..:te.d I. monnieri c.ame. no.t 6Mm Gneec.e. ~ bu;t aM.6 e. ..i.n a. Fil.enc.It ga.Jtde.n., a.n.d ,u, .6 ub j e.c..t .to ,i,n..te.Jl.ptr.e,ta.,ti.o n a.6 ct "good" .6pe.uu; c.e;-i..:taJ..nly not a.t> a. "na.t£.vtal" .6pe.uu. I. oc:'hroieuoa mM.t now be kn.own. a..6 I. orienta.Zis ( 6otc. the. 1te.a.6on. 06 pwJu:ty aga.,i,n} a.n.d Lt. c.ould ne.ve;-i. c.oMe.c:tey be. de.6c.ll.,tbe.d a..6 bung ye.Uow, e.ve.n by pai.e.f .ooo,t: otc. .Ugh.t yel.£ow ,ln.,te;-i.ptte. a.:t..i.on, .6,tmply be.c.a.w.,e. U ,u, 9£.e.am-i.ng whUe., though w..i..th 1.>ome. yellow in6uJ.>..i.on in -lu m..ldt> e.c..t-i.on. a.nd yeU.ow-bR..az e.d 6all6. I. kaemp f ex>i and I. iaevigata atte. •w.t--cu ,u, ..i.mpUed--:tYJo n.amM 6otr. one. a.nd tiie. .6ame.; bi. 6a.c..:t titey a.Jte :two c.omple.:teC.y cll6.tinc..t .6 pec-i.e.6 , i5ound .6 ympa;tJu...c. bu;t Jte.mcu,ung .t.lr.ue. .to .:th.emo etve.6 a.n.d neve.ll. -ln..te1r.b1te.e..d..i.ng. The oOIUne.lt name. mU6.t be neU.nquio!:ed -ln 6a.vo/t 06 I. ensata, a name. ,i.;t a-Vtea.dy ha.d be.en g-lve.n whe..n the. name "Ka.emp6 eJLJ.." WM bu.towed (an e.xamp.ie. o fi pll.-i.oJu.:t.y aga.-i.n} • I. sibirioa .lo ne.ve/1. .to be. 6ound ..ln S-lbeJU.J.t, only We.6.t Oo tiie. Ulta..i M.t6. a.nd a..6 6a.JL acJL0.6.6 mldd.ie. tultOpe.. a.-6 Savoy ..ln. F.tta.nc.c.. I. diohotoma ..l.6 not e.ve.n an ..l/t-i.o J Having be.e.n btr.e.d .to a "Be.a.c.h.be/1.fttj Wy" (The.tj pll.odu.c.e.d g/ta.n.dc.h.le.dJLe.n yet!}. The. "VMpe/1. Iw" ha6 be.en ban.,lohed oil.Om th.e. fioR..d to be.c.ome. Pardanthopys diohotoma. . Now, CU> to bul.boll.J furui.-6, by wha..:t 6.li.glit 06 6a.nc.y c.ould I. r eticuiata e.veJL have been c.ai1.e.d "Spa.n..lohli, wh e.n U ha.-i.R..-6 6Mm tite p1te.cl6e. oppo.6Ue. end 06 tite Me.c:U.:twi.a..ne.a.n ba..o-ln? Add ~ tite oc.c.Ulta.nc.e 06 I. :ciphiwn -ln Spa,ln t:.ha.t va.lL..i.ouJ.> 6o.tun6 CVLe 6ound ,ln A6/t-i.c.a. CU> well.; MoltOc.c.o and AlgeJua.. I . xiphioides muJ.>.t now be. c.ai1.ed I. 7,atifol-iwn., aga..ln. a. c.hange. ne.c.eo.6Ua..:te.d by the. ptuOIU:ty Jtu.te. . (tie. wLU. a.c.c.cv.,;t.om oUlt-6 e..i v e.6 .w .the.6 e. c.h.a.ng e.6 , bu;t oni.y CU> we. /te.rnlnd oUM e..i v e.6 • S-<.tt, a.nd Jc.e.a.de.lt.6 ail'..; 6ofl.9ive. th.lo nU-p,lc.k.eJt, one. who va.iu.e.6 SIGNA CU> a .60U/tc.e. 06 /te.oe.Jte.nce. tiia.;t ,,[-6 W,i..:tltou;t .6.taln, and .the1?.e.601te.. one. tfJ be. .tJt..w.,te.d. ·. :, . Humbly YoUM, 601c. A.C. CUMac.tj. ED : We do appreciate error s as inaccurate as these, but the article referred to was a reprint of very ancient items and I am sure our readers are knowledgeable enough to have read it with tongge in cheek as I did; the above is printed as an aid to those of us who might not have perceived all the errors. Thanks to Mr. A. C.C. for putting it all into plain language. ******* With the top British Award, the DYKES MEMORIAL MEDAL, going to marjorie Brummitt's ' NO NAME'. the Pacific Coast irises certainly have gained an inevitable boost in general recognition in America. George Stanbach' s 'WESTERN QUEEN' took the Mitchell Award and its accompaning RIDDLE CUP, while runners-up were Lenz's 'SIERRA SAPPHI RE' and Starnbach's 'WILD CANARY' . Congratulations to all t heir godpareats. * *·~ **** 518 AN INTEREST ING SCORPIRIS (OR JUNO) IRIS Jean !vL:tt Iris cycZogZossa Wendelbo, described and illustrated in Curis's Botanical Nagazine, tab. 708: 1976. This species occurs in a small area of northwestern Afghanistan, in wet grcu:nd near streams at an elevation of 15-1700 m and is thus an 11 aberrent11 member of the Juno group, which almost without exception prefer extremely dry conditions. Coming from such an enviro1m1ent, it has so far prove9 more tolerant of the cold damp Englir.h winters than most Junos. DESCRIPTION: "Glabrous perennial bulbous herb up to 40 cm tall when in flower. Bu]b with long, s lender but fleshy storage roots, runics papery, b:rown; stem with long intcrnodes between the leaves, sometimes branched. Leaves about six, alternate, nar~owly lanceolate, long acuminate, canaliculate, rather falcate, the lower1;1ost up to 30 cm in length and 1. 5 cm broad at the b~se, the upper ones progressively smaller, margins white. Bracts 7-9 cm long, acuminate, green. Perianth-tube 3.5 to 4.5 cm long. Exterior segments (falls) 6-7 cm long, the winged claw 2.5-3 cm long, ebout 2 cm broad, with tho margins upturned, lavender-white with a creamy-white median stripe veined and dotted with blue, the lamina deflexed 3.5- 4.3 cm in diameter, suborbicular with no crest, lavender-blue with a creamy-white sjgnal patch deepenine to yellow at the centre. Interior segments (standards) patent or suberect, 4-4.S cm long, 1.3-2 cm broad, obovate with a cuneate base, l avender bl.:e. FilaJ!lent s l.J.-1.5 cm long; anthers 1.4-1.6 cm long with whitish pollen. Styles 3. 5-4.5 ci!l lone, 6-8 JJ'l~':1 broad, elliptic-oblong, bilobed with lobes 6-8 nun long, 3 nun bread, lavenrler-blue; stigr.1a bilobed. Capsule oblong, 5-6 cm long. Seeds light b:i:own, rugose, trigonal-ovoid, non-arillate, 0.4 era long.;' :::::n addition to its prefere:ace for a moist habitat, Iris cycZogZossa differs from other Junos in having quite large standards which are sub-erect, at l east when tlc~ flu,,ers first ope:a. It is the largest flowered of it group and one of the most b0.1utiful-. Th e flcwer;; ~.r?. scented like clove pinks. The plate shows a tall grace ful s l ender-leaved plar:::, lookin more like a member of the Xiphiwn group than the co:.,:--n-1·'.)2fed Jun:Je. Th~ ,.;hitc-biazed blue flowers seem reminiscznt of I . xiphioides from the da.T.p mec Iris cucloal-,.,ssa is also treated, along with many other Junos, in Wendelbo and . Ma thew's Ii.. uia.c..,~,ie · segment in FLORA l~..NICA ( 1975) which Roy Davidson is review ing elsewhere in this :i.s!:iue . Their colour photo shows the falls barely drooping a.r.irl the "sugar scocp11 st.a.nda:rds aJ.mos t horizontal. ltendelbo. and Mathew suggest thst because of its well-developed branched stem, thA large standards; and certain pollen traits, as well as the preference for a wet ;_.:;adow habitat, I. oyclogZossa ''may be the most primitive member of the otherwise advanced group of Saorpiri3," They give a chromosor.:e count of 2n = 28 for this species, which is higher than any of the counts for this group listed in GARDEN IRISES in 1959 (except for the possibl6 tetraploid I . graeberiana with 2n = SO). The range of counts for Scorpiris !Sped.es at that time was fron 2n=16 in I. oaucasica to 2n = 26 in Ii. persioa and vioaria. As a g2rdener in a wet coastal clima~e, I must admit to looking. wi th a great deal of envy, at the cclour photos of Junos displ ayed in this publication, with their wide variety, shape, and colour. No wonder Dr. Rodionenko thinks we should ·519 have a Juno Spciety!. (See SIGNA 12: 316, Oct. 1973). The variations in flower form are partic\llarly'_striking, from \the large-standard, large-fall type of I. cyc'log'los.sa , through_ the still'-reco_gni:5able standards of I. fosterana ( refer to the drawing on 521 page'522) to mere wisps of tissue in other species (see drawings on page ) such as I; drepanophyUd subsp. chlorotioa, (which is said to have green flowers!) . One can see the advantage to a plant in a desert environment of a short compact habit over a tall slender one, but the reasons for changes in floral form are less evident. Why should atandards be reduced almost to the vanishing point,* only to be replaced ·by l'arge petaloid style arms? As the blades of the falls shrank, why did large rufflep flanges deyelop along the hafts as in I. pZatytera (drawing on page 520 Is this progre·ssion of floral changes and reduced stature correlated with a reduct 'ion in chromosome number? Whether botanists see this group as the genus Juno Iris subgenus Scorpiris, surely there can be no disagreement that many fascinating garden subjects await us in this area. '!' I. wendeZboi (see drawing in SIGNA 14: 367, Oct. 1974) actually has tiny standards at least as small as those of I. setosa., though not quite so reduced as the thread like· remains in I. danfordiae, which were not apparent in the original photograph and.hence were not shown in the drawing. ******* He that nothing questioneth, nothing learnest. Thomas FuZZer (1608-61). Q.. · Enci.o.6e.d 6lnd p-i..ctUll.e/2 o{A.Ju:6ei., g1tow-i..ng -i..n ;the wild in Fto,uda.; 1.>ome in d!lfl,o-land ne.alt Fotc.;t Me.yeM., .6ome inland. Can U be. ;tha,t 11 Loul6)Aruu e.x,tend :tha.:t 6aJt :t.o .the e.M:t? o"1tp -l6 not, wha.:t c.an :thv.,e. be? -ln. c.oloUll. they We/l.e. blue.. A. Yes indeed, the so-called Louisiana Irises do get into Florida, even as far as South Carolina! In the other direction, they get into coastal Texas, and one species (I. fuZva) extends northward up the 1-fississippi Valley even as far as the Ohio River. If we could learn to call them by their correct name, HEXAGONAE, or at least refer tO them geographically as "GULF COAST IRISES", We'd not encounter this mental block to accepting Florida iris as Louisianas.* As to what species, ~ost likely they are Iris gigantiooeruZea; Small named a good many variations which cannot be regarded as anything more than minor variations, clones if you will, but the majority of the Hexagonas he named as "Species" were hybrids actually. * I personally saw these flowering towards the end of February. B.L.D. Q. The. cli/2-Undlon. be.tween a. "ci.one. 11 and a 11 c.u.Lti..va.1t11 i.6 not Veil.If ci.e.aJL, ofL am I de.n6e.? I.6 :theAe actually a cli..66eJLenc.e. oil. a.Jte. :they wo1td6 me.ani.ng :the 1.>ame. A,. One dictionary meaning of clone is "A group of organisms descended asexually from a single common ancestor". A cultivator differs only in that it is perpet uated in cultivation, even though it might have been found originally in the wild, as for instance the garden plant known as Iris netsonii 'Homachita'. Horticultural writing prefers the use of "cultivar" simply because it is presumed to speak of plants that are in cultivation, and this too, can be used interchangeably under proper circumstances, though not true synonyms . B.L.D . *·****** 520 Iris platytera Mathew & Wendebo 197? Drawings made from photographs in FLORA I RANICA I . cyaZogZos sa Wendelbo 1958 521 Drawings ff.ade from ~h · tographs in FLORA IRANICA I . fosterana I . d:t'epanophyZZa Aitch. & Baker 1888 Aitch. & Baker 1888 subsp. chZorotica Mathew & Wendelbo 1975 Iris tectorum Iris tectorum Taiwan form From Japan Drawn from photographs taken by Dr . Robert Egle I . aycZogZossa Wendelbo Redrawn from Curtis's Botamca1 Magazine tab. 708: 1976. ) ) ·, 523 LETTERS Interesting 'letters from our member's are reprinted below, either whoUy or in part. Members are invited to write of their experiences, even if onZy a few Zines. Spreading the knowZedge and experiences of growing the species is a sure way to make SIGNA vatuabte to aU. lleZp yoursel,.f and others too! The 7,.etter beZow comes from IJr. Wister, weU known as the first president of the AIS, and now OW' first HONORARY MEMBER. The Zetter is a reply to Homer Metcatf informing him of the nomination. Dr. John C. Wister, 735 Harvard Ave ., Swarthmore, Pa. 19081 •••• kind to make me an Honorary Member of the Species Iris Study Group, and I wish to thank you. I only wish I were more able to take part in the work that you are doing. It occurs to me that botany is constantly getting more complicated, and to have become so hard to understand, as to be impossible for ordinary gardeners to understand.I even suspect that as Dean Bailey one prophesied to me that top botanists were losing their ability to communicate their ideas in language that ordinary mortals can understand. Yes, we have bad the coldest winter in a hundred years; other years never near the zero • •• • ****** fie have been trying to get information on how widespread the growing of the Pacific Coast Irises are outside their natza>aZ habitats. Here is a bit on that. Mrs . Karol Hujsak, 3227 S. Fulton, Tulsa, OK . 74135 •• •• Yes, I agree its interesting to grow some of the 40 chromosome Sibericae, and I 'm finding out here in Tulsa that they need a little more water and a partially shaded location. You say, in your letter, that "you think that Ivm the first person you've heard of who has succeeded in flowering the Californicae in Tulsa". I just had to write and tell you that I'm not! Two people have done this; Mrs. Robert Howard flowered RIPPLE ROCK last spring, and also a Cal- Sibe from seed, and a young fell ow by the name of Jim Keathley has f lowered several others, although does confess he has lost several I bought a few plants from Jim last fall and these are the ones which flowered for me this spring (1976): CHIMES, FAIRY CHIMES, SUZIE KNAPP, NATIVE MUSIC and Joe Ghio's PL-145A. I have followed Jim's· method as best I can; have all named plants and Cal-Seedlings in a protected 9 shady location •••• Our late freezes are a headache, because I know come spring I'll be baby- sitting; running out at night and covering them and our hot summers take the vigor out of everything except for a few bearded irises ••• I can't wait to see CANYON SNOW and HIMGIS OF HADES BLOOM. *** Homer> Medcalf repZies (in part): Howard (Goodrick) writes"Some people in the mid west claim to raise and bloom Californicae. I have some in the ground - those that germinated last Spring under lights. In this operation I am fighting temperature, drought and alkaline soil. Another group from those that germinated were planted in very loose potting soil in a large pot and watered with distilled water. They lo.ok good. Those in the seedling bed look sick" . *** 524 COLD CLifiATE SPECIES Mrs . J·oan Cooper .s 212 W~ Co. Rd. C, Saint Paul, MN . 55133 We are part;i.cularly pleased with the progress the SEED EXCHANGE is making in the distribution of spe:cies which thrive in continenta l climates. "I had versicolors galore in assorted colours from 1 Claret Cup', 1 Rosea f and a white with blue veins . Of ten Siberian 11:Mixe:d 40' s:i and SUNLIGHT BAY seedlings obtained from the SEED EXCHANGE, one from 'Sunlight Bay; won best seedling in our show. The setosa whose seed I sent, has a r e al nice da1:R.blue-violet flower - I really like it because it blooms so long and heavy - it was in bloom for three weeks. About twelve of the Pacific Natives seedlings lived through the winter . i; Seed of other species with which Joan has been successful appear in the 1976 seed list: I . sibiriaa, I. big"lwnis, I . brevioauUs \ from a plant grown in Minnesota for 50 years), I . pseudaoorusj Louisiana Iris 'Dor.othea K. Williamson 1 ~ and Pardanthopsis, the Vesper Iris. ED: The seedz.ing that won BEST IN THE SJJ0h1 AWARD ws SB-74--1. ******* Dr. Robert H. Egli, CH-181~, La Tour de Peilz, Switzerland. (to Jean · Witt) Enclosed with this l etter you will find 200 H . P . seeds of the plants I got from 'extra' seeds "Evansia Taiwan" receive d in 1973 from you . To be sure of what I am talking about, a colour photograph is joined , showing, left , the flower of "Evansia Taiwan" and right, I . teatorum Japan. Both have b een grown side by side in a cold greenhouse and bloomed in May ' 76 . Measuring of all essential parts gives a proportion of size ~:5 in favor of 171 Evansia Taiwan". Especially the cres t seems much bigger . In addition , the falls of "Evansia Taiwan" are drooping, inclined in the outer part and show therefore with the sloping standards an attract ive profile. The Japanese I. teatorum which I had from a botanical garden in Austria shows flowers nearly flat. After flowering, the leaves growing to maturity are also nearly double the size of the others, this in the greenhouse and in the garden at different positions . The photographs of the pollen under the scanning-electron-micro scope (in Nestle's res. lab.) show a definite difference in form but not in size; i . e ., same length of the boat-shaped pollen, but broader 11 11 and with opened aperture (slit) in the case of Ta iwan • At the moment we cannot assure if this difference is in relation with polyploidy with different varieties of I . teatorum (see note) . The plants and flowers of "Evansia Taiwan" correspond exactly to the plate XXIV and the description on p. 102 of W.R. Dykes' "THE GENUS IRIS". I consider this plant, "Evansia Taiwan", as the true I . teotorum and much nicer than the Japanese form . The seeds could be offered as I . teatorum, form Taiwan. Note: M. Simonet 1932., indicates a chromosome number of 2n=28., whereas B. Sakai 1952 has found in a detailed study 2n==24. In neither aase was the naturai origin of the material known. P"lease refer to p. 521 for drawings made from the photographs mentioned above, of these two forms of I. teatroum. ****** 525 Mrs. Seven I. Thoolem, 255 Manzanita Dr., Orinda, Calif. 94563 To ask me to write an articie or story about the species grown by the 110rinda11 Group is fine, but there is no Orinda Group! There are several Orinda AIS members, and I suppose some are growing species of one kind or another, but as f~r es I 11 know~ 1 am the only active AIS member in the "group • For myself, I have been trying to grow a few species such as Ii. macrosiphon, fery,.aZdii, tenax, innominata, dougZasiana and hybrids. The named varietiestlo better here only in that they get better attention. The species are grown in my native soil~ which is popularly described as sandstone adobe. The land is sloped, therefore there is good drainage in spite of the "adobe". In summer they get water as a fringe benefit since it is primarily aimed for the comfort of the nearby rhododendrons. these are all growlng under pine trees with morning sun. Because of this "neglece1 they grow and multiply slowly and bloom sparsely In the cultivated garden where the hybrids grow they do re.spond accordingly with good growth and ~loom. The collect ion is enlarged each year and there is now getting to be quite a few under oak trees (deciduous type) . When I planted these we decidel-'raise the bed by a few inches to incorporate ground leaves, soil :3ulfur, dolomite? fertilizer etc., so that the compacted-·,'near the tree roots could be worked as much as possj_ble. In this way the newly -' planted Californicae Irises and a few Siberians would have a good start. Since these beds are about 30 inches higher than the level ground below them, there is also good drainage. The other group of species which I am interested in is the aril group. Ii. aeutiZoba, atrofusoa, auranitica, barnwnae3 gatesii, iberioa, mariae, and swensoniana* are among some of the oncos I grow. Ii. hoogiana, koro'lkowii, stoZonifera, bloudowii, and humilis (arenaria) are some of the regelias. These are grown in fiber pots with a special soil mixture of sand, compost, dolomite (large amounts), quarry fines, and when I can find it, lava rock (fine texture) , with some 5-10-10 at planting time . Since I have some steep slopes on our land, my husband made steps in a sunny area, they are about 10 inches deep by 20 feet long, with a rise of 6 inches. These pots are place-4 where I can reach them conveniently for lifting when I want to breed, : photograph, etc. These steps hold at the moment some 150 pots and could hold more later. These include also named varieties and hybrids, and hybrid seedlings (not mine unfortunately) . With the first warm days of winter~ I apply some Cygon 2E and SUPERTHRIVE to eliminate competition with the aphids and give them a boost or "tonic" for spring. I have found that systemic insecticides work successfully for eliminating aphids deep in the heart of the leaves, sometimes at or barely below ground level where contact sprays cannot be effective. For arils this is very crucial; it is the difference between life and death in some instances. If I clean all debris and dead or diseased leaves away~ I generally find that I do not have to spray for leaf spot or rust. The only exceptions are during mild damp winters when nothing else works but fungicidal sprays. Since my hobby includes the breeding of arils with non-arils, I also grow dwarf species. These are Ii. pumiZa~ aphylZa, reiohenbaohii, baZkana and meZlita. In Orinda I. reiohenbaohii seems to grow better than balkana and pumila. Pumilas grow well enough if replanted frequently, but they still are not prolific bloomers here. However, I get enough pollen to work with. An experiment started two years ago using I. reichenbaohii to create median and/ . or dwarf (SDB type) 48c hybrids t,o use with arils, will produce eight plants to bloom ·this spring. These are from HY DESIRE X I. reiehcr.baahii (yellow) and TB pink seed ling XI. reiohenbaohii. Both TB pod ~arents are very lute bloomers in the season ayd I. reiohenbaehii is early. Will this produce mid-season medians? In any case F won't produce much, hut I would like to select for yellow and/or apricots with 526 red or t angerine beards, and l i ne breed. I feel certain species have yet much to offer in breeding9 perhaps not so much in colours, but maybe in size and chromosomes leading to f ertile medians s uch as the IBs which at the moment, with few exceptions, are not, due to their imbalanced chromosome sets • ••• • *ED: The species given as I . swensoniana is not one I coul,.d find Usted in any Ut eratu:r>e I have. It could be a mis-speZZing, but since the speUing is far off from any oncocyclus species I know of, I wouid hesitate to label it such. Fux>ther information is requested> either from Mrs . Thoolem or other of our members w'ho may be familwr with the name. ***'**** We wondered in the last issue w'ho grows Californicae? Away from the Pacific Coast that is. This is an interesting letter in answer to that request. Mrs . Mary Alice Hembree, 951 Brown Road !t Bridgewater, N.J. 08807 • • • .as so far I hsve only bloomed one s~edling, but I hope and believe that I have learned a fair amount through trial and error in the meantime. My one bloomer is from seed lot 72K-233 (I. innominata - beige); it bloomed in 1975 and 1976. As I belong to a species robin~ I gather that some of my experiences (especially of germination times) are not typical of experiences for Wes t Coast dwellers. For me, relatively few seeds germinate until fall , nearly a year after I originally plant the seeds. They die in droves over the first winter for me, until I brought one box inside when I noticed new sprouts, as it was a colour I particularly wanted . Within a week , virtually every seed sprouted and all grew healthy. By spring I had enough healthy seedlings to give a small pl anting box away, plus two or three dozen for myself. Unfortunately, rr.y dogs overturned my plants and I found the damage too late to repair. But I hav( repeated the attempt this winter, though so far, I see no germination in the box that I brought in, and I am about ready to sift through and make sure that there are indeed seeds still in the box. Last year I purchased seedlots of both the supposedly hardier groups, but so far there is no germination. That surprises me, as the Californicae hav~ never before given me that t rouble. I tried named varietiest ordered from various sources, but none ever survived , regardless of the treatment. Evidently the combination of fall planting, my cultural practices and our weather disagree with the Californicae. By accident I both planted one properly and kept records on it . • • It was the one spring germinator in a seedlot. The next fall a l arge number of new seedlings s prout ed in the same box and to keep the larger seedlings from shading them out, I set it out in my mixed border. There was little evidence of disturbance and we fortunately had a late~. mild winter. I lost the entire box of seedlings over the winter, and I feared that I had lost the transplants as well , as t here were only dead leaves that spring (I unde.r stanci that I. innominata is evergreen); hut it sproute, i ncreased well, then bloomed the next year. It is in a sharply drained, well protected spot on a north slope. I also have a number of younger seedlings that have not bloomed yet. Or at l east I hope I do! As you know, this has been an unusually harsh winter. Normally we have ,a~ternate freezes and thaws 1 with mild' temperatures. "This year t here has been at least 8 11 of hard-packed snow over the entire bed since Dec. 26th, and the temperatures have been far below normal. If the pl ants survive, I guess that is additional evidence t hat hardiness is not the whole problem for would-be growers of Californicae in the north • • • • The blooming size plant grows in the shade of a columbine, with fairly close relationships to a number of plants. I have noticed with my younger seedlings that those seem to do best that are not planted in isolated splendor; also that they seem to prefer light shade, even in northern New Jersey, 527 From what I know so far , in summary, my future strategy will be: Plant the seeds outside as usual after their arrival in January. Bring the seed boxes in under the lights for their first winter; transplanting into larger boxes as needed; set them in place in the spring; watering if needed; once established leave them alone until they bloom. They will be mixed in with other perennials rather than plant ing them alone •••• Spr ir.g really seems to be better (for planting) in this area, given our unpredictable winters with alternate freezing and thawings . Last fall I had quite a few lusty-looking seedlings that had survived one winter outdoors doing just that. Most were from seeds I collected while we were in San Diego one November. The plants were still blooming, and from what I have read, I feel. sure they were a form of I. dougZasiana • ••.. Mrs . Ruth M. Burch, 1605 S. 5th Ave.) Yakima, Wash. 98902 •• • . Have a seedling that somehow excaped the hoe but is different; underside 6f of the falls is white. I would call it white with an overlay pattern of blue on the top leaving a white border, the blue forming an irregular pattern, partly lines. 'Ihl.s one was near a blue I was told was PERIWINKLE BLUE . The only white in the row is at the other end f'rom the blue an1 its name is unknown . Snowy Egret and White Swirl are in another part of the garden. Helen Astor and a couple of light ones are in the row •.. •Usually I cut pods with stems to dry for flower arrangers., thus el:im:inating a seedling problem •• • •. My first I . tenax came f'rom south of Chehalis, Wash. Collected two plants . •• only one survived to bloom, a lovely lavend.er. I had it for some years, even seedli.i-,gs had bloomed when winter took it. We had - 80 plus a few more zero nights with no snow cover ••• I also got I . oh:t>ysophyZ Za and I. innominata from a Portland lady, but soon lost Innominata. They seem to be tenderer than some others here. I do have some in containers tbat have survived the last two winters .•• in a makeshift coldframe with a blanket of excelsior .•.•. . I have other iris; like three kinds of setosa, all seedling stage. A friem's son worked on Kenai Peninsula for some years and in 1974 sent a lot of seed of the I. setosa there .••Much more than she'd ever plant . . • she gave Jean Witt some ••• I received some •.• I have seedlings up of them ..• This seed has been stored in refriger ator . . • . I try different ways of hanlling species seeds; such as fall planting, spring after soaking; sometimes after refrigeration or even freezing • . .• Jean· sometimes sends extras for me to try; like a few years back some old I. fu'lva with the suggestion -to soak them. It·has taken time, but last summer I has two bloom stems on plants still in containers. I also had two different Versicolors bloom - one tall, one short and different colours •.. • I'm finding it necessary to get more of the smaller iris instead of TBsj although I enjoy them all. . •. Frank V. Kalich, 1208 Valencia Drive NE 1 Albuquerque, New Mexico 87110 •••. Junos do very well here. At one time I had a very large collection of the rarer ones like Ii. niao'lai, fosteriana, k:usohakewiozii, cauoasioa, pseudooauasioa, paZaestina, pZanifoZia etc. These all have perished long ago. For many years no one was interested in these irises. Of late, however, the tide seems to have changed somewhat. I have supplied bulbs for many of the l ocal people and I am sending seeds to Germany. The demand was so little that all the commercial growers, with the exception of Van Tubergen, discontinued carrying these species •••• ******* 528 Mrs. Robyn J. Gully., 3 Louis Ave • ., Hawthorndene., S • . Aus., Australia 5051 • •• • I seem to be the only person in my State who is seriously interested in growing species 1r1ses. Bob Raabe has been a good friend and corresponde:nt, although he lives 1000 miles away • ••• Unlike many irisar.ians I did begin my affiliations with iris species and not the TBs, and my interest and favoritism stemmed from early childhood when I fell in love with the winter blooming I. unguiauZaris •••. In a lifetime I doubt if 1 1 11 even scratch the surface (of iris knowledge), but it will be fun trying • • • • •My climate and soil enable me to grow one of the widest ranges of irises •••• We have a true Mediterranean climate with hot dry sunnners and sool wet winters. Among the iris I · grow are various hybrid Tbs, Louisianas, Californicae, Evansias, Oncocyclus, ·Arils, Reticulatas, Xiphiums 1 most forms of I . unguiauZaris, I. foet- id ssima, Laevigatas, Sibiricas and a number of unrelated plants in both bulb and rhizomatous stock ••• • This year sees me with a lot of seedlings •••• My first Junos are up (I. magnifiaa) and stuff like I. diahotoma, a number of Spurias and Pogoniris species and Sibirica species are germinating well. This year, my fourth season at my present abode, will see first bloom on many of the seeds (mostly Californicae) from Lorena Reid two years ago •••• I am hoping to see bloom on a number of yet un bloomed aril and oncobreds, and even I. Zortetii, my one and only pure onco. Other ' species of interest that may bloom for the first time are I. forrestii, I. wiZsonii, I . versiaoZor Kermesinas I. sintensii~ I. graminea and I. sanguinea Violacea • • • •• I would also be delighted to correspond with any members who would be interested in general garden topics as well (as iris) ******* Mrs. Sarah W. ·Highley, 168 High St., Mechanicsburg, Ohio 43044· How I long for the days of the SPECIES ROBIN •••• Two moves and a change in professional commitments leave me •••• four survivors in cans •••• I keep saying I will go back to Alabama and get some of the others. A note for SIGNA: In 1971 and 1972 several pounds of assorted water iris seeds were accidently distributed into the headwaters of the UPAHATCHEE CREEK and its drainage system. Germination was excellent. Human activities have further spread the more accessable plants to other sites in MACON, BULLOCK, LEE and MONTGOMERY Counties in Alabama. This distri bution has not been limited to gardens, as assorted fishermen, coonhunters etc. have planted them in swamps as surprises and for peace offerings for wives, mothers etc. Before these seedlings the only irises found in ~.iACON County were I. aristata and I . aZbioans. An interesting belief about I . aZbioans among the older negros of that area; I was clearing out a neglected patch of these slightly scraggly irises when several people tried to persuade me otherwise. "You don't throw away that white iris - its lucky! 11 I mad e the plants all into one becl, everyone was happy, and this bed, shaded by pine trees, was an outstanding focus of my yeard! . ... · ******* Mrs. Ruth M. Burch 1 1605 S. 5th. Ave . , Yakima, Wash. 98902 • ••• Siberians seem to do well. I have seedlings from I. forrestii; also one from what was supposed to be I. wilsonii, but it does not match the description in GARDEN IRISES or Dykes' THE GENUS IRIS. It isn't yellow and looks more like the picture of I . o:r>ientalis in Dykes. I tried a cross with the I. forrestii seedling a few years ago - no luck. Last year it set many pods without help from me~ so don't know what I have • • •• *****"~ 529 TO ALL AMERICAN IRI SAR IANS J SPRING'S GR EETINGS, A SOBERING THOUGHT , The last thing any of us wa!lts or needs at the time we her ald the springtime is another long harangue; this will be short and snappy, maybe painl~ss . Maybe even sweet? The one serious shortcoming of the recent ballot as a means of rescinding an AIS Board action was t hat it may have l eft many recipients as i gnorant as it found them. Some saw no issue for there was no provision for meeting the expense of re taining the office it sought to preserve. Rather than futilely follow this path and at the probable risk of more wasted sweat and tears, to say nothing of spilled blood, it must become pr efectly evident that the issue at hand is nothing more than one to find alternative monies for bolstering the AIS treasury, in lieu of the dreaded and decimating dues increase. This is to be particularly a critical need if it is proven the membership would desire to retain a centr al office, no matter whether in St. Louis, the National Horticulture Society's River Farm, Petaluma, or wherever. Over the years quite a nurnber of member s have been watching--at first with but only mild disappointment, then later with no little dismay, and mos:t recently it is quite obvious with some considerable alarm- - an insidious chain of events leading to decentralization and ultimately to the present state of the Society's depauperate self. In the minds of some it will be considered a low and foul blow to further opine that the AIS has become the Tall-Bearded Ameri can Iris Society; one has only to look at the facts to see for himself the tru~h--that all major interest groups (save tall -beards alone ), have seemingly found it necessary to establish their own speciality organizations for what was felt to be neede:d freedom, both of action and expression; many or most directly affiliated with the AIS, while others seek an alliance, and all confoI'ln in registration and awards matter s . No one would ever argue the value to AIS of the concentration on regional organization; the benefits in membership gains and the greater popularization of the i ris in its namy forms as a garden subject are both self evident and well recognized. These specialty organizat ions and regional groups are all convened as non profit organizations; all of them accrue and disperse monies. If a total of their e:x1>endi tures were to be made known, it would probably be found a rather awesome sum. If a portion of th2.t total could find its way into the AIS treasury, ther e would be no doubt the Society could maintain in some style a central office, possibly with a library arid other benefits, a repository for the records and artifacts--all that, yes, plus the finest possibl e uninhibited horticultural publications. It is after all only a matter of management , not simple, maybe not possible, but - --- Think about it. Within the immediate fuf,urc considerable reorganization of affairs ~s inevitable. Perhaps the best interests of the American Irisarian might be best served, not through further destructive fractionalization, but via a con soli dation of effort. Sincerely, Roy Davidson A thirty year man with no axe to grind. ****** 530 Frank V. Kalich, 1208 Valencia Dr. NE, Albuquerque, N.M. 87110 Feb . 20 /77 .•.•• U.t.ua.l.ly 1 ha.nd-pollina.;te. :the ju,io.o. The. only in.J.i e.c.u Tha.:t I c.a.n dete/lJn.i_ne. wluch pou...i..,ut:te. juno.o aJc.e. the. be.u. Sometime/2 I nolic.e. tha:t Syrphus 6Ue.J.i hang cvwund :the. j uno.6, bu:t moll.e o 6-te.n. 1 6..i..nd :them cvwund :the. Jz.e.:tlc.u£.a.:t.ci6 • A:t :the. mome.n:t 1 have. .6e.ve/La£. 1c.e;Uc.ul'..a.;tcw i.n 6utt bloom, mo.6-te.y Bakeriana, Histroides major, hist;r>oides var. sophonensis and ;the»c. hybll...i..d.o. Mo.6.t o-6 my 1c.e;Uc.u£a..ta6 aJLe. in a. c.oole/l. be.d and .they .6hou.i.d bloom Yi.e.x.t we.e.k. oft. a..:t :the. £.a..:tv.,:t. :the we.e.k. al),t:e.Jz. ne.x:t.. Bae.fl to juno.6 ••• 1 have. one. wluc.h 1 go:t oJtom :the. Ka.Jr.a Kum dueJt;t. 1.t ..i..J.i a. p1c.e.:tty blue. waft .6ome. yeli.ow on. :the. c.ll.e.J.i:U. Now, 1 have. a hyblud be.;tJ.oe.e.n Magnifica .a.r.d Vicaria. 1:t fl.e..6ernble..6 ma.gn..i..6,Lc.a., bu:t. the. on.e. big d..i..66ell.e.nc.e. - P..attie Hubbard, Seattle, Washington tells of seeing Iris pseuda.corus which over a period of several years, completely cr owded out cattails growing in the hollow remains of an old cedar stump . ... Ruth Burch, Yakima, Washington says 11 I start most of my species in containers here; can vary the potting mixture that way for acid lovers, etc. Also easier to protect more tender thi.r,gs during the winter •. .. I had two I . versicoZor bloom, st:i.11 in containers ... one a tall lavender-blue, rather light, the other shorter and a li.ght purple. 11 Old seed of I. fuZva gave her at least partial germination. ***** Oro JoR Ellis, University College. London. Notes. on the 'Discussion Meeting on Evansia Irises heZd March 25., 19?5 by the B.I.S. Species Group. GERMINATION OF IRIS SEEDS IN WATER . Asked how he managed to germinate his seeds, Dr. Ellis explained he put them in shallow dishes of water which he renewsfrom time to time. For the first ten days he changes the water every day, but after that he leaves them alone, putting the dishes in plastic bags to avoid loss of water by evaporation. He keeps the seeds at room temperature, 68° approximately. He leaves the seedlings in the water after they have germinated and said that they would deve lop quite a long way in the water . Asked what he did if the seed grew mouldy, he said it did not ~eem to matter, and he just rubbed it off. He has germinated the evansias this way» the laevigatas, californians and sibiricas. He has 6nly had occasion to germinate I. paZZida among the po gons, but this was successful. -1:i:*** Bill Maryott writes from California that Moraea iridioides has become a very popular landscaping plant in San Jose. ***** 531 In the book, GARDENS, PLANTS AND MAN by Car1 ton B. Lees (Prentice Hall Inc. 1970), on page 70 is 2n illustration from HORTUS FLORIDUS by Crispijn van de Passe, Utrecht and Arnheij rn , 1614~ showi ~g a walled garden of the period with tulips 9 lilies and iris planted in f ormal beds . However, we can track back iris as cultivated plants considerably further than that painting l1ADONA Af..1D CHILD WITH SAINTS IN THE ENCLOSED GARDEN by Master of Flemalle and assistants, a Flemish School of the first half of the 15th C:.:' Ltury 1 which shows a bearded iris with blue standards, purple falls and a yellow beard, ***** SEED EXCHANG E REPORT March 1st. Jean h'itt The SEED EXCHANGE has had 96 ordexs and sent out 2045 packets by March 1st. Correction: SIGNA 16, p. 432: paragraphs 3 & 4, change I . t-:ripetala to I. tridentata,. I . tripetala takes precedent. 11 On page 433 , the l ast two lines should r ead • •• they will be well advised not to try it in limey tufa, but to use a mixture of clean sand with finely divided acid peat. 11 11 11 Page 448, third paragraph, line 8, del ete the word not , so the phrase reads • •.• • "and as such could conceivably produce a limited number of seeds." Page 449, first paragraph, the last word should read unfortunate (not fortunate). Page 482, fourth paragraph; the genus name is spelled Neomarioa. Page 490, fourth paragraph; I . reginae is short it finale. Did anyone ever bloom Iris missow•iensis from 67P077? Mary Ann Heacock of Denver, Colorado sent this note wi t h the seeds : "Bloom of parent plants had light lavender-blu, standards and yellow-green falls. It is a larger and "rounder" flower than our mis~ouriensis. ··rt has an odor similar to cigar lighter fluid. Alta Brovm collected the original plants and gave a s tart to Mr . &Mrs . C.P. · Gordon, and this is where my plants came from. I presume the plants were selfed, as ther e were no other iris blooming at that time in my garden except the tallbearded i ris, and it is doubtful that they would have hybridized. 11 This was sub.rrtltted as Iris montana, one of several specific names that have been given to Iris missou:l'iensis over the years. I saw the parent plant in bloom once in the Brovm ' s garden, and the greenish falls wer e most distinctive. The totnl effect was quite different from the ones that grow wild in Washington, J.G.W . ·if**** ELAINE HUBERT ) Conn: "The Cal-Sibe seedlings had t oo littl e chlorophyll to survive, but one lot? chr)ISographes r ubella x Amiguita, sur prised me by putting up a second showing of pale? but not white, seedlings. 117 3S202 , which was supposed to be Iris graoilipes should be watched. Some of it is turning out to be a Pacific Coast Iris instead, with a flower 3 11 across. CURRIER MCEWEN , Maine, writes "I now have about 15 cifferent collected plants of I . sibirioa • .•.The plant from which these 3eeds came (76J031, coll. Poland •• •• is the best of the lot, a r eally superior plant." 76J033 came from his best diploid rcbloomer f/68/78 RK-5 which "Put up · 21' scapes this year at first bloom and 22 at r ebl oom . The earlier scapcs ·had no branches; all the rabloom scapes br anched .• . it has none of the known r ebloo~ers in its background so introduces new genes; not a grent flower, but a fine rebloomer. · 532 KEN WILSON, Olive Hill, Kentucky reports';(inding "a completely white Iris aristata, smaller than normal in every way," but which may not ever be large enough to transplant vegetatively. Beware of 1974 seed 111"Utheniaa" - I. setosa hookeri mislabeled as I. rutheniaa. Joan Cooper r eports that this seed produced charming small flowers with no standards at all and extra falls. This was supplimentary seed we obtained from the American Rock Garden Socicty~s seed exchange, already packed in tiny white envelopes, and unfortunately we didn 1 t open the envelopes to check. Members who received 74R226, Dr. Rodionenko's see For the fragrant list: Iris danfordiae's flowers gave off a strong, somewhat daffodil-like odor when the pots were brought into a warm room, but I'm not sure it qualifies as "fragrant " . J.G .W . ***** Mrs . Marlene Ahlburg, Hohes Feld 22> 3171 Rotgesbrussel, West Germany. Mar. 1 _pe:~t;'l7 •• • . .eou o 6 c.Jr.o c.u.1.i 1.> pe.c.,i.e.ti he..f.R.ebo1t.e..6 . 1tetic.u.la:ta1.> ••• and :the be.u aJte. 6lyhig whe.n. :the. -~u.n. ,u., ou.:t The. JLe.gelwc.ycl.U6 .t>how .th.e. tip.6 06 .thm le.a.vu and .60 do :the. jun.o.6 ••• 1 go:t an wtk.nown e.va.n6-ia. .oe.e.dUn.g oil.om an - March 22nd as the last lines are typed and plenty of late snow outside, after the winters snows had left and it did look like spring. The winter has been cold, but with ample snow cover damage should be slight. The regeliocyclus were polking through the last week in February and now the sun warms the greenhouse to August temperatures. Some intended items got left out of this issue but will be ready for #19, which appears to be shaping up to be a most interesting one and our ten year birthday as well. As usual we solicit items of general interest from our members. Especially from our "dirt Gardener" friends. SIGNA attempts to cover the entire field of species iris growing and we need to hear more from our bashful beginners. The letters on .the previous pages show what can be done. You don't need to be a scientist to write a few lines for SIGNA - just report something interesting that happened in your garden. It had been expected that a further part of the STUDY MANUAL would be ready tomail with this issu~but this hope has been delayed pending further revisions of the t·ext.. You will observe that this issue is again an oversize one compared to our former works, and it is our hope that we will be able to continue these expanded issues. Material in prospect for #19 indicates this to be the case, and with your continued support with renewals the financial part can be solved too.