••••• JUNE 1975 Number 15 The Study Group of the American Iris Society

Iris pse11dacorus is our "cover girl" for this issue. It is the tallest of irises, and in conditions which suit it, it also is the most vigorous of mses. The foliage is of an attractive blue-green color, and so graceful and handsome is the foliage that the makes a striking focal point in the garden even when not in bloom. For the size of the plant, the golden colored blossoms are rather small and fragile, and the standards are so insignificant in size as to pass unnoticed. Even so, the blossom is beautiful both in proportion and in form.

Iris pseudacorus is a swamp species; it is native to a large part of the European continent and to the British Isles, from which areas it has been carried by man to North America, , , South America, and Australia. In each of those continents, it has escaped from gardens and has "gone wild" along the banks of nearby streams and estuaries.

During the 1975 AIS Convention in San Diego, several clones of were in bloom under seedling numbers in the guest iris beds. These were selected by Dave Niswonger, of l\l'issouri, from among the thousands of seedlings which he has grown in an effort to obtain variant forms arid colors of this species for garden use.

For a very unorthodox concept of the origin of Iris pseudacorus, see the article by Freeman Yendall which appears on page 406 of this issue.

- 385 - THE SPECIES IRIS STUDY GROUP OF THE AMERICAN IRIS ' SOCIETY SIGNA - - - - Number 15 - - - - JUNE 1975

TABLE OF CONTENTS Did The Trick - Garden News, Ltd.­ 387 Species in Australian Gardens Bob Raabe- 388 Kew Herbariu m Roy Davidson 390 North American Crested Irises Jean Stevens 392 North American Crested Irises Molly Price 393 AIS Exchange Jean Witt - 394 - Tyge Bucher ,396 Nomenclature of Siberian Irises Currier McEwen 398 Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Garden Bill Gunther 400 Iris Breeding Katherine Heinig - 402 Iris xiphium M. W. Prynne 404 Japanese Irises at the Convention Bill Buck - 405 Abnormal Pseudacorus Freeman Yendall - 406 Tauranga, - Freeman Yendall - 407 December, 1878 David Crichton 408 Notes on Growing Variegated Irises Mrs. B. Corneille 410 A Luncheon for Chuck Richard Arango 411 Reclassification of the Spuria Species Jim LaMaster 412 Canyon Garden Bill Gunther 414 000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000 EDITOR'S NOTE

Very literally, we could fill this entire issue of SIGNA with articles and photos about the various tour gardens of the 1975 AIS Convention, and about all the species irises which were in bloom in those gardens, and about the species meeting which was held in the headquarters hotel, and about the species bloomstalks which decorated the speaker's table for that meeting, and about all the surplus species which Jean Witt sent from our Seed Exchange and which were distributed during that meeting. Certainly, from the size of the crowd which attended the Convention's species meeting, one would think that every last member of the species group was there. We were truly honored that Clarke Cosgrove, as President of the American Iris Society, elected to open and close our meeting, and to participate actively during its course. I am glad that a tour of my garden was part of the Convention's agenda, and I appreciate how many of you, while visiting my garden, took the time and effort to introduce yourselves as members of the species group, and to say nice things about SIGNA and/or about the garden. Yes, we could fill this entire issue with articles and photos about the 1975 AIS Convention. We could - but we won't. We won't for the reason that most of you - the members of the species group; the readers of SIGNA - seemingly attended the convention in person. And we don't want to bore you all with a written rehash of what you already saw in person while you were at the convention. So, instead of devoting any space in this issue to any of the gardens which were "on tour" for the 1975 AIS Convention, we instead are giving coverage in this issue to a couple of nearby gardens, both of which grow species irises, and both of which were "missed" by the convention. Neither the Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Garden, in Claremont, nor the Canyon Garden, in Santa IV'onica, were included in the convention's itinerary, so very few members of the species group had opportunity to see them. We hope that the articles which begin on pages 400 & 414 will make you wish that the convention's buses had gone to those gardens too Bill Gunther - 386 BEES DID THE TRICK· A chance hybrid, bred by the bees, was the plant that interested American Roy Davidson more than any other when he judged one of the iris classes at the early summer iris show in England.

When the British Iris Society heard he was here, they asked him to judge the species classes. He was at once intrigued by the cross between our own wild iris, the common flag, Iris pseudacon1s, and the species from western giving a yellow flower faintly lined with purple, which had occurred as a chance seedling in a nursery in Yorkshire, found and shown by Donald Patton of Chesire.

The iris is the hybrid 'HOLDEN CLOUGH', a brown one for the water garden.

Incidentally, Roy said he was on a "Postman's Holiday" which · is American for a "Busman's Holiday". The postman goes for a walk, while the busman takes a drive.

P ublished by Garden News Ltd. Printed by Woodston Newspaper Services Ltd., Peterboroulth. England.

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======387 - SPECIES IN AUSTRALIAN GARDENS

Bo b Raab~

Growers of single "types" of modern iris , i.e., tall bearded, spuria, Louisiana, Japanese, etc., usually have abbreviated bloom seasons. After the short weeks of bloom, there is li ttle aesthetic appeal amongst the deteriorating foliage until many months later, growth and promise of more bloom recom· mences. The species iris grower, with his gems scat­ tered in strategic P(!Sitions about the garden, can ap­ preciate continued pleasure and interest over a far longer period. In my garden near Sydney, Australia, the iris species always are the great "extenders" of the bloom season; this was particularly true during 1974.

Here, the weather of the last season favoured the early larger crested irises, particularly Iris japo11ica and its related form, "". The latter, with its Iris confusa parentage, or more correctly, grand parentage, is a great companion of Iris japollica, the ice-white blooms complementing the pale blue of the japonica. This past winter, I flowered Iris formosa11a (courtesy of Dr. Boussard) for the first time and I thought it distinctively beautiful.

The louisianas normally commence flowering here in mid-September, but this year there was little bloom Iris halopltila for louisianas until early October, so during the early part of the season, Iris pseudacoms, several early /. virginica seedlings, the beardeds Iris troja11a and Albicans and the evansias could be appreciated without much competition.

The Virginicas bloomed in greater profusion than ever before this year. The middle of September saw the start of their bloom and a few late buds on a first year seedling were a snail's dainty breakfast but a week before Christmas; I had passed them by amidst the luxuriant foliage. Three months of uninterrupted bloom from only a dozen or so seedlings of one species is unquestionable evidence of the potential th is species holds as an outstanding garden iris of the future.

It really was a year for the laevigatae! , Iris laevigata alba, and several seedlings sent up masses of vigorous foliage in early September and this was followed by over a dozen spikes (none last year, 2 the year before) which carried a mass of bloom and now bear a crop of maturing pods. Following several years of barest survival, these were all introduced into what can only be described as a good vintage slimey mud in a submerged laundry tub. Dividing and replanting of this will be an olfactory ordeal; the mud is quite innocuous until disturbed! - 388 - Spuria species also were generous with bloom this year. Four separate clumps of Iris !Ialoplzila (3 from seed, one purchased) all flowered for the first time and all were superb. One lovely scape carried 4 open blooms of delicate ivory with ice-white veining. Few irises have im ressed me more. My 11 seedlings clumps of/. cartltaliniae are slowly expanding and 9 flowered for the second year running. Seedling variation, although slight, makes them all quite distinct and they are all very beautiful. Division is now imperative as, in my ignorance and pessimism, I have planted them all far too close together. The sweep of Iris maritima, grown from seed from the late wonderful grower of iris species, Lois Hale, was dazzling-the eye-catching spidery blooms could only be described as a cross between navy and ultramarine. These plants are Iiving contradiction of the rule that spurias are reluctant to flower following transplanting; they have bloomed annually without fail eventhough they have been moved each of the past two seasons to escape encroaching onion grass (Allium sp.).

Iris demetrii was exquisite, a complete surprise as the scape went unnoticed until the first bud showed Iris cartlzaliniae color. I was very impressed with the size of the :· bloom- nearly three times that of Iris maritima on nearby stems of the same height. The blooms were the richest of blue with deeper blue veining on the blades of the falls and fine golden edges along th~ styles and claws as in the better of the Iris carthaliniae seedlings. Ji£ Iris aurea bloomed (in its 4th year from seed) for the first time for me, a single stem among the dozen of so seedlings so I have no indication of intra specific variation. The maiden blooms were a distinc~ glowing golden yellow with some slight ruffling and no tendency for the falls to tuck under and twist,. 2 characteristics I wasn't really expecting. This was yet another spuria worth the wait and I hope a. few of the other seedlings will bloom in '75.

As the somewhat ostentatious Japanese irises finish off the bloom season with Christmas close at hand, the last of the true species vie for attention with their simplicity. The delicacy of Iris tride11ta1a· is indescribable. The late Caroline Dormon much complimented this iris in her book, "Native Pref-: , ferred", and when I first saw the bloom of this iris, I realized she was making understatements! Several well-branched spikes of Iris milesii seem to produce limitless bloom from each spathe but they can't go on too much longer. A malformed Iris wi/so11ii on a 2 in. scape! I have tried all sorts of positions in the garden to no avail. The year ends and so does the iris bloom season. I. delaJJayi was the last species to flower although a very late spike of I. sogdiana came as a surprise the other day. Nothing spectacular about the bloom but a species iris bloom doesn't have to be spectacular to impress!

Although the iris bloom season is over, the African and South American irids will do their best to . carry on. Throughout the summer, Neomarica caemlea will sporadically create a display on 5-6 · foot stems, vivid blue flowers with throats delicately blotched in purple and brown and with metallic turquoise anthers. The smaller Neomarica grarilis, with ivory flowers marked blue and brown will. - continue producing bloom right through January. Dietes l'egeta and Dieres bicolor, two other­ reliable Southern Hemisphere irids, will flower intermittently through to April. These are fascinating in that the much-branched stems retain some dormant buds throughout the winter and these are th~ first to bloom the following spring.

Summarily, it has been a most rewarding and interesting season for species irises, as each year has beer: since I planted my first seed. As each bloom season brings something new and remarkable, I can't help but marvel at the great diversity and magnificence of the Iris.

- 389 - Kew

Roy Davidson My planned one day at the Kew Herbarium extended to almost a week, most of it spent leaving telltale fingerprints on the very collections that form the basis of our iris , a good many of which bore the "W. R. D." that signified that none other than Dykes himself had been there. Further study of Sibiricae material was perhaps unnecessary since it had been so recently and thoroughly perused by Christopher Grey- Wilson in preparation for his monograph. Nevertheless, seeing for one­ self certainly does give clarity and focus to understanding, and I believe that I might have perceived some few details that he may have missed, or at any rate made no comment upon.

As to , Grey-Wilson told me he had found no evidence that this was to be considered a 'good' species entity: he believes that what we now grow by the name had its origin in Bulley's garden-nursery ('s seed firm, now the grounds of Ness Botanical Garden of the University of Liverpool). We had visited this garden, but before any irises had come to bloom. On record at Kew are three sheets of collected material, subsequently identified as this species, in the herbarium: Soulie (without number: ex Herb. Musee, Paris} coll. Ta-Tsien-Lou, E. , 1893: 0. Schloch no. 77, coll. 1900 m. in , "Islands of lakes at base of mountains", 4 May 1916; McLaren's collectors no. N-124 (ex Herb. RBG Edinburg), coll. Yung-Ning, W. China, May 1933. This last is a very small, slender subject, 9-12 inches total height, whereas the two others are considerably larger, the Schlock specimen to 20 inches and stocky-robust. None was branched; spathes in all were elongated and slightly unequal; all were two-flowered. Mclaren, who was later to become Lord Aberconway, had continued to employ the native collectors who had worked with Forrest, for the years 1932-1938, after Forrest's untimely demise.

Kew's reference material includes, in addition to the herbarium of preserved collections, a vast lib rary, photos, paintings and drawings, and a correspondence file of pertinent materials, all of which were made available to me through the kindness of of the Kew staff. There were many sheets of , plus a photo of great "banks of purple iris in the Kama Valley" taken by the Mt. Everest Expedition of 1922, showing the profusion attained by this lower-meadow species of the Himalayan alliance of Sibiricae. Another illustration, a painting by M. Smith, and det. (?determined) by Dykes to represent/. clarkei, depicted a very full flower reminiscent of the Curtis plate of/. dykesii. (more on this later.)

There is also a very bulky amount of material representing collections of Iris cltrysograp/zes. Kingdon­ Ward no. 4025, coll. 1924, and no. 4028, coll. 1925, are noted merely as from "W. Ch ina", as is also Wi lson no. 1486, collected for Veitch and presented· by that firm. Other Wilson sheets, no. 4555, no. 1304 (with exceptionally large, full flowers), no. 3701 (total of three sheets), and no. 3070 are all from Szechuan, as is Pratt no. 147, "W. Szechuan-Tibetan frontier." Other material, all of it from Yunnan, includes: A. Henry no. 11,928 A & B (both with exceptional flowers) and no. 11,927, the color stated as "blue"; Forrest no. 8184, "6-8 in., deep purplish-blue with yellow markings, fragrant; moist pasture"; Forrest no. 17078, in ; Forrest no. 25, 043, "16-20 in., deep indigo-blue; margins of marshes and boggy lakes at 11-12,000 feet; Sept. 1924"; and two sheets by McLaren's collectors no. 0-187, also from Yunnan. (How one wishes others ahd been able to convey their field observations, even to the fragrance, onto herbarium labels!)

Abbe Delavay's own no. 2683 (ex Herb. Musee Paris) was the first of the several/. delavayi to be seen: it is over 30 inches, with "flowers violet" according to the collector's note, taken 14 June 1887, station not noted; others were Forrest no. 1895, "purplish blue; boggy open mountain pastureland on E. flank Tali Range, W. Yunnan, 9-10,500 ft."; Rock no. 18,061, July 1929, Kulu in the Muli Kingdom, SW Szechuan, with a stalk to 14 inches, "flowers dark purple-blue"; McLaren no. 8-41 from W. Yunnan was exceptionally robust, bore one short branch. (In the garden at Kew, their no. 651-69-06007 is a very fine, large-flowered /. delavayi, well-branched, robust.) - 390 - As cultivated by Mr. Musgrove, the type specimen of/. dykesii, which had been rescued by hii;n from the late Mr. Dykes' garden, is on file. It was of course the subject of the Curtis plate t. 9282, and the original of this is here as well. Often these superb drawings tell more of what we need to know than do the most carefully preserved actual material. Musgrove's correspondence with Dr. Stapf is quoted by the latter in his description accompanying the Curtis plate. (After going through all this at con­ siderable length and referring back to a number of sheets, it seems to me that this resembled both clarkei and chrysographes, and in later conversation, Grey-Wilson expressed the same opinion . Certain observations of Iris clarkei material substantiated a guess that this entity of unknown origin may very well have arisen as the result of such a hybrid combination. There is no material from the wild. It would appear to be a little absurd under such circumstances to continue trying to authenticate it as a 'good' species.)

Of , Forrest's own no. 6028, coll. 12-13,000 ft., E. flank Lichian Range, is noted as "7-16 in., flower bright yellow with brownish-green markings, faintly fragrant; open alpine pasture"; Schneider no. 1891 (ex Herb. Dend. Soc. -/Arnold Arb.), colt. June 1918, is a very slender and dainty thing, to a foot high ; Mclaren no. n-48, coll. June 1933, Li Chung, W. China, is similar to the last. (This does not seem to be a very extensive record of the species in the wild, nor does it display the variability it shows in cultivation. A good share of the latter may well be of hybrid origin.)

Iris phragmitetomm is represented by the type collection of Handel-Mazzetti no. 8628, coll. 19 April 1916, Yunnan "in regione colide temperate prope urbum Yunnan-tu, in parte stagnante lacus in phragmitetis".* It is large in all parts and is said to have been "beardless, striated white and blue", and the specimen appeared to me to be remarkably similar to/. sanguinea. This specimen is a little larger and remarkably similar to one attributed to A. Henry, no. 11 ,92:i' A, which Dykes identified as /. chrysographes. Both standards and falls, however, are both far longer and broader than others of that species on record here. (Mr. Mathew concurred in my opinion of the remarkable similarity of the two, which actually appeared to be as nearly 'identical' as one could hope for-or shudder at, for that matter, so close these various entities seem to be, at least in their dried condition.)

Iris wilsonii is well represented in the Kew records; Wilson's no. 1450, 1164, and 1164A are mounted on a single sheet from material grown by Veitch and Sons, 1907, and collected for them. There is a note in the TYPE folder analyzing Wilson's Irises (doubtlessly the unsigned observations of C. H. Wright in relation to his conveying of species rank to ). The TYPE folder note for/. wilsonii reported, "This species varies somewhat in size; var. major is probably only an extreme form with larger, short-pedicelled flower, whose style-arms, instead of being of a uniform clear yellow, have a pale chestnut along the midrib and are suffused with the same color in the upper part." This is dated 1 July 1907. Additionally, there are three of Wilson's collections, no. 2371, and no. 3072, plus one without number: field notes state "very rare", and "grasslands at 7,000 ft."; some are in capsule, and all were collected in W. Hupeh. There are also four Forrest collections: no. 16,294, from Yunnan; no. 21,373 "flower fragrant, It. yellow, falls marked pale purple-blue; margins of streams and nearby meadows in the mountains, June 1922, S.W. Szechuan"; no. 23,611 "open dry hillsides and meadows"; and no. 2~,613 "2-2½ ft., flower yellow with blue facings on the falls; dry rocky hillsides on the Chien-Chuan-Mekong divide at 11-12,000ft", both the latter in Yunnan.

These Himalayan irises may well be closer to a single biological species (or two?) than we suppose, in the wild state. Their points of difference are assuredly far, far less than their similarities.

* roughly translated as "in a moderately ?hilly? region near the city of Yunnan-fu, in a stagnant part of a lake in among reeds"--'colide' is not in my Latin Dictionary but could derive from col. a hill- Ed. - 391 - Native American Crested Irises

Jean Stevens From the woodlands of the northeastern states of America comes one of the most charming species, Iris cristata, with dainty flat miniature flowers of an incredibly clear, soft, lavender blue, with a small spot of white surrounded by a deeper blue on the falls below the tiny crests which take the place of a beard, or of a median line, in this second smallest representative of the evansia or crested irises.

As would be expected from the climate to which it is native, Iris cristata is completely hardy and fully deciduous. It is found as far north as Maine, where it must spend the winter under a blanket of snow. Essentially a woodland plant, it does best in partial shade, likes a friable, light leaf-mouldy soil, and dislikes lime.

The roots are very fine and almost threadlike, and do not penetrate the soil much more than a couple of inches. Great care must be taken that these roots do not dry out before replanting, and it is best to transplant when new root growth is active immediately after flowering. I have found it the best plan in preparing the site to work up the natural soil, then add a special compost mix (to which I add a little sand) to" a depth of two or three inches. Do not work this in to the natural soil, but leave as a top layer. Firm this layer down, and then plant, leaving the slender covered, but only just covered by compost mix. Iris cristata flowers early in the spring. From the completely dormant plants, at the beginning of spring, green spears of growth appear very suddenly to burst out in flower and leaf the following week. At first the flat leaves are upright, but when the flowering is over, they continue to grow until they are up to eight or nine inches, when they droop over in their upper length. Iris cristata will stand a period of drought in summer and autumn, provided it has enough moisture and nutriment in the soil in spring and early summer to make good leaf growth. A plant so shallow rooting naturally requires an annual topdressing of compost or natural leaf mould, as when it is doing well, it quickly uses up the available plant food. In nature, this topdressing is provided by rotting leaves of the deciduous trees under which it grows.

A close relative of Iris cristata is the even more miniature , which is native of the areas around several of the Great Lakes of North America. For a great many years, this miniature species was confused with Iris cristata, but it has various characters making it very distinct from that species. For one thing, the foliage, even when it is doing very well, never develops either the same length, nor does it ever droop over but remains short and upright, and the rhizomes pack into close clusters. The flowers are never more than half the size of Iris cristata. Perhaps due to the mild climate of this country, Iris lacustris does not flower so freely as Iris cristata, giving a nice little show of bloom, but never the massed display of Iris cristata. Iris lacustris does, however, give some autumn bloom. It requires the same conditions as does Iris cristata.

There are several color variations of Iris cristata including an exquisite albino form.

To each of the 35 AIS members who visited New Zealand durln& the most recent bloom season, the New Zealand Iris Society presented a copy of the book "Jean Stevens on Irises". The article which appears on this J>a&e was reprinted from that book. Decoralin& this page is the new design which appean as the cover motif on the excellent cunent Bulletin of the New Zealand Iris Society. If Je an Stevens could have lived to see the recent achievements of the New Zealand Iris Society she would have been delighted: that Society truly was her first love.

- 392 - Native American Crested I rises

Molly Price e xtracted from THE IRIS BOOK There are three American species which belong to the Evansia or crested iris subsection. One of these, Iris lamstris. the lake iris, I mention just for the record. It is too difficult for general garden use, though it is said to grow well in Wisconsin and to be at home in English gardens. The tiny plants with three-inch leaves and small slate blue flowers are found in great numbers in sandy woods and bogs around Lake Superior.

A second species, Iris cristata, in appearance a larger, brighter I. lacustris, is dff.!?.rent in behavior­ adaptable and undemanding, first favorite among our natives. It is at its best in a lightly shaded woodsy, and well-drained soil where it spreads over large areas, carpeting the ground with rather broad six-inch leaves. In l\llay the matted growth is nearly hidden beneath flat lavender flowers patterned in deep blue and white with a yellow toothed crest on the falls. White, lavender, and almost pink variants have been reported. The long thin rhizomes creep about over the soil surface, and I p lant them so, covering o nly the roots, protecting the whole with a light litter until plants

The hardy little Iris 1e1111is. found only along the Clackamas and Mola ll a rivers in Oregon, has been transferred ( Lenz 1959) to the Evansia subsection. According to Lenz, it is most closely related to the two crested s;:,ecies /. lacu­ stris and /. cristata and to t he Japanese /. graciliJJes, differing from them significantly only in the smoothness of the yellow ridge on the fal:s. It is said to grow in leaf mold and decaying· ·. moss among dense underbrush or under Douglas . In leaf, in . color, shape of the tiny flowers, . . and also growth habit, this spe­ cies shows strong resemblance to I. cristata; the forked stems, like thos0 of/. gracilipes, produce two or three flowers. A charming Grossman 9h0Lo, from THE IRIS BOOK, by ;.J.., , Price, plant for the sh ady wild border. wi•..., ocrmission from Dover Publications. Inc. 393 - AIS SEED EXCHANGE Jean Witt Our aim of an error-free list still eludes us. This year's discrepancies include: 74M l cl- 9 - si11te11isii- :1pp1c•:1rs to 1.·011tai11 l\\'O 1yp1.•s or s1.•1.•d . Watl.'li to s1.·1.· ii' 1.>111.· 1.·mild be /. r111he11ica. 74M26 I -;i \\'hill.' spuri:1 in 111.·1.·d of itk11til'i1.·atii>ll . 742248 - listed as Gynamlriris sisyri11clti11 111 - :1p p1.·ar:-. i11~11.·ad 10 h1.· Sis_r ri11c,'ii,,,;, sp.

It you have solved any of the mysteries from previous seasons (or uncovered additional errors). please be sure to report them to me.

Since 'bloom season will be upon us be­ fore the next SIGNA comes out--again let me urge all of you--take your twe­ ezers and set us some special seed: with the increased postal charges we need all the H.P. seed we can get. Self a good color ie,:-m; intercross color forms within species. Be daring and make some far­ out crosses (see appendix in Garden I rises for the types of crosses that can be made.) Even with all the fine seed that came in for 1974 we still are not meeting the demand for bearded species. All growers of /. vema, please try again with hand ./. /o11gipetala, the Lou­ isiana species, and all but the commones• California species remain in short supply with no /. lacrustris or I. tripetala thi· year. ( JEAN WITT AT WORK ON THE SEE D EXCHANGE ) A special thank you again to all our donors, from all our avid customers.

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Iris alata

from " Iris Culture for Amateurs", by R. E. S. Spender and L. F. Pesel: Lo ndon: Coun1ry Life Lid. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, I 9 3 7. Iris a/ata is the first of the Junos to claim our attention. Those of us who have seen it growing wild along the railway embankments as the leisurely Sicilian express takes us through the heart of Sicily, treasure a never-forgotten memory, and will naturally want to reincarnate it in our gardens. It is a plant beautiful in all its many variations, varying from pale lavender to richest violet, from "selfa" to mottled tones, and both style-arms and falls are conspicuously waved and curved. The normal height is about 6 inches. In England, as well as Sicily, it is an early flowerer, the date depending on the amount of moisture it has received during the growing period. If it has had sufficient rain it will flower in November. Therefore it should be planted early--i n July or August. It requires a warm and sheltered site to preserve its ample foliage through the rigours of winter, and is consequently not for northern latitudes; it seems to prefer fairly shallow planting in a rich, tenacious, but well-drained soil. I have kept it and flowered it for several years--though not always successively, and it would, doubtless, be wiser to protect it with glass from snow and extreme frost.

- 394 - Iris Seeds

For those of you wanting seeds from far-away places, here's your chance. Following is an extract from the 1975 seed list published by Der Staudengarten, a German horticultural society formerly called Deutsche Iris- und Liliengesellschaft e.V. Profits from their seed exchange help support the society just as AIS seed exchange profits help support SIGNA. Information concerning the German seed exchange can be obtained by writing: Frau Gertrud Symmank, 6236 Eschborn-Niederhochstadt, Altkonigweg 30, W. .

Iris H . pallido var. ccngialti ( H) 45. palli(b ,.,.r, illyrica 114) ( 40 Chr.), bcste gelbc Auslcscslgc., Absaat 1974 (49) ~rhrll• ,·ar. rolonic,. Ahs. l .l~ · 4(,, pscutbcorus, Wildformen, Abs. (361 >pogon Hybr. ,·ersd1. I 32 I (~O Chr.), hohe 'Delavayi' x 'Clarkei' · -Ii. pscuda.corus ' Basurdii', Abs. (49) Hybr., 140 crn, groRbl., Atn. (49) germanica &rb•t~-N•n•·Crnprc. 48. pscudacorus 'Colden Quttn', Abs. /4'.11 4 . (-10 Chr.), tiefviolcue M.irt.>hybr., Abs. (94) Abs. ,·ersch. Sortcn (321 49. 'pscudacorus, Z-.·crgform, Ahs. (4'>1 4. 4n, TB (tetrapl. Hone &rtiris) Rassc W,t, Mischung (37) 50. pumila lecht; serhische, m5hri3, !)war! Form ( Hl gcrmanica Barbo.ta-Ebtior•Crup11e: II. bn.ctcata, Hyhridcn, Abs. t 1-1, 55. sctos., 'Tricu,.,is', Aln. l-19) 91. 'Amethyst Aamc', Abs. (37) 12. nrtbaliniae (52) 5h. sctosa 'Tricuspis' x 'Nana' · H>·briden Ahs. 93. 'Elcano~ Pride', Abs. (3i) 13. ch:unadris, Sc=lpcn ( 1-IJ ( 49) !).I. 'Ribbon Round', Abs. (37) 1-1. chamaeiris, edit, fn. Sccalpcn, ,·c~ch. Farb, ~. sctou, Alaska, hod,, gut ,·crzweigt, Abs. "~­ 'Rosenquan.', Abs. (37) tone (50) (49) ~l/1. 'Piere Menard' x 'W;abash' ( 19) I~­ S!'CC,, Ncp,l, Cclarkd ?) (-1~1 511. (32) I IS) Ill. chrySOfml!'hCS 'Ruhella' C9) 61. sibirica 'Alba' (37) 99. \ 'Heavenly D.-ys' x 'Stepping Out') " ;!>. 1 chryso~phcs, fonncn uruc-rein;indcr t -1· , 62. 'Cambridge', Abs. (-19) ('Indian Hills' x 'Velvet Robe') (8) 20. decora (32) ,,.~. 'Dragonfly', hoch, Abs. (49) 10ft. ('Indian Hills' x 'Stepping Out') x 21. dcmetrii, Abs. (49) h~. 'Dre.ming Spires', Abs. (49) <'Coldfad tectorum \i') l I~• wilsonii (33) 1 .l 1. missouriensis, Abs. (-1~1 tectorum, Abs. {49) IIG . sisyrinc:hium (Gynandriris s.) coll. Korsia -Ill. monnieri '. 5-1) rectorum, bl;au u. -.·eiJl gemischt (10) 19,-1 (49) -II. notha, Abs. ( -19) i;u_ t· 629. Iris >.iphioides ( I. anglia) 139\ 42. ochrolcuca (33, 5-1, lilll P;:l::!e R>nn ,·en t=orum, nid,t cytolo­ 8%. purdyi, Abs. (32) H . omroleuca, gelb (54 ) gud1 untcrsuch1, b.lndbe.stiubt (50) i,~;. Kreu~ungen ncu= Sonen ( 1111

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SIXTEEN IS NEXT

You now are reading SIGNA 15. SIGNA 16 is next; it is due next October, and we would like to publish in it something from YOU ! So if a species iris is in bloom today in your garden, or out in the woods or swamps nearby, then we'd like for you to take a few close up black and white photos of it now, while it is in bloom. And when your pictures come back from the shop, pick out the best one, then write up a paragraph or two or more about the iris - where it grows, how to grow it, etc - then send your snapshot and your writeup to Bill Gu.,ther, · 740 Crest Road, Del Mar, California 92014. He is your Editor, and he'll edit your item and he will process it into SIGNA 16. The sooner your item or article gets to him, the better I

- 395 Iris Spuria

A new series o f Danish postage stamps, depicting various species of the native fl o ra o f , h as been issued to commemo rate the 100th Ann iversary of the fo unding of the Botanic Garden o f Copenhagen, Denmark. One of these postage stamps, depicted at left, features Iris spuria. An article about this species, published in association with the postage s tamp issue, was authored by Tyge W. Bucher, Institute for Pl anteanato mie og cytoologyi, Koben­ havens Universitet, Solvgade 83, DK I 307, Kopenhavn K. , Den­ _rna~k. That article follows:

In Danish this Iris species is known as Blue Iris, but in certain Swedish works it is named Danish Iris. Perhaps it deserves this name, since the plants in Denmark seem to be slightly deviating. At any rate 1here are, as most owners of gardens will know, several Iris species with blue flowers­ and it would therefore have been better to name the species accord ing to the place where it grows and to describe it as Saltholm Iris or Salt Iris because the place where it is found most abundantly is the island of Saltholm in 0resund, and here it grows on salty soil- something which definitely is characteristic of the species.

Iris spuria has bluish-violet flowers and narrow, sword-shaped, bluish-green leaves. The flowers are ) arranged in a spicate inflorescence having few flowers at the t ip of a stem which reaches a height of 30- 80 cm. Stem and leaves grow from a which Raunkirer (1895-1899) described as more compact than the rhizome of Yellow Flag Iris, a fact which he ascribes to the greater firmness of the soil in which it grows. On Saltholm it grows particularly at the northern end of the island in places at such a level that they remain uncovered at high tide. In the same zone of vegetation we find Festuca arundinacea, a species which prefers fairly dry salt meadows and which at any rate requires a large content of electrolytes in the soil.

Raunkirer shows the structure of shoots oflris spuria in his fig. 109. The rhizome grows monopodically until the plant sends up a flowering shoot. The rhizome is divided in corm-like sections, each consisting of a number of short internodia with annular leaf-scars. Each section corresponds to the growth of one year. When the plant has flowered, the rhizome usually branches, and two opposite innovation shoots appear-at any rate it is side shoots on the foremost part of the rhizome which continue the growth. However, smaller buds are also formed at a greater distance from the ends of the shoots. They are "spare buds" which may grow to form rhizome branches.

As mentioned, Saltholm is by far the most important locality in which to find Iris spuria. It grows also at Aflandshage and at ~oklapperne near Amager and at Skanor and Limhamn in Skane. It has previously been found at Nakskov and at Odense fiord . Its distribution in Denmark has been studied by Knud Jensen (1935) and Anfred Pedersen {1962).

- 396 - The small population of Iris spuria at 0resund is very isolated. The nearest locality of typical Iris spuria is in south-eastern at the salt lake, Neusiedler See, near the border between Austria and Hungary. The greatest of the areas in which it is distributed are in Hungary and Roumania. It should be noted that there are closely-related Iris spuria forms at certain places in southern England, and , but that the Danish plants most closely resemble those of south-eastern Europe.

Iris spuria belongs to a p·:>lymorphous species complex or rather, a group of closely-related species also including Iris ha/ophila which is widely distributed in districts from the Black Sea and east· wards to Central Asia. Southwards the distribution of the group reaches Asia Minor and Persia. The distribution of the different forms are described by Meusel, Jager, and Weinert (1965, p. 102).

The chromos~me cytology of the group has been studied for a long time, the first .chrornJSOrre: counts being made by Simonet in the years 1928- 34. The Danish form from Saltholm and an Austrian from the lake Neusiedler See were examined in 1938 by M. Vestergaard. Both had 2n=22, but the plants from Saltholm proved to have a pair of with small and a pair witli large satellites. Simonet has found the numbers 2n=38,40, and 44 in various taxa from western France, Asia Minor and Persia. The above-mentioned /. halopltila is thus tetraploid (2n=44), while/. spuria from Saltholm and Austria is diploid (2n=22).

Bernatsky & Janchen (1910) considers the plant from Saltholm to be a special taxon which they call /. danica. It is more sturdy than the one from south-eastern Europe, and the leaves uppermost on the stem almost reaches the inflorescence-something which is infrequently seen in plants from south· eastern Europe.

How and when did /. spuria arrive at our sounds and belts? According to Jessen the seeds are able to float on water for a short time only. Jessen concludes that the species has spread to Denmark without human aid, and that it occurs here in the form of small relict populations. The que!-tjon is then from which period it is relict? Considering its relationship to Pontic-Central Asiatic species it must have come from south-eastern Europe. But it has hardly arrived here recently-more probably when the climatic conditions were more continental. Originally it has spread in the most southerly parts of our country-wherever it ·could find salty soil which resembled the salt steppe soil to which it was accustomed-and it has now disappeared from most of the places except Saltholm. It may perhaps be considered a relict of the late-glacial period.

Iris spuria on Saltholm is not only a beautiful and rare plant. It is undoubtedly also a relict from a previous climatic period, but it is first and foremost a living organism presenting a number :of interesting and, in part, still unsolved biological problems. The population left on Saltholm is something unique. At some time or other it has become isolated, and this isolation may have resulted in a selection of certain gene combinations here- But its days are probably numbered; the whole island will presumably be covered with concrete sooner or later.

- 397 - Nomenclature of Siberian Irises

Currier McEwen

EDITOR'S NOTE: Eleven yean ago an International symposium devoted to Irises was held in Florence, Italy. 1n 1974, from June 4 to 7, a second sYmposlum was held at Libli ce, under the leadership of Dr. Milan Blazek, Curator of the Botanical Garden 1 at P~uhonice. Becau~ one of the Principle topics for discussion at the sympos ium was the classification and taxonomy of irises, Dr. Currier McEw en, chairman of an ad h oc committee on nomenclature appointed by th-, Society fo r Siberian Irises in 1972, was invited to attend the Symposium to report the views of that committee. The following article which·hasbeen reprinted from the Fall 1974 Issue of The Siberian Iris (Vol. 3 number 1.0, pp. 11- 14) is the report which D r. McEwen presented ..t Libllce in behalfo!lhe ad hoc co~mittee. The f~ membership of the committee is: Leroy Davidson, Peg Edwards, William McGarvey, Lo rena R eid, Sarah Tiffney, Kevin Vaughn. Juhus Wadekamper, Bee Wa.rburton, Jean Witt and Currier McEwen, chairman.

Of further particular interest it can be reported that Dr. George Rodionenko, the renouned Iris taxonomist who is Director of the Leningrad Botanical Garden, informed Dr. McEwen at the Libllce Symposium that he is currently re-studying the ·species Included in Series Sibldcae to see if changes In classificat ion should be made.

In his classic work on THE GENUS IRIS (1 ), Dykes placed nine Apogon species in his Sibirica Group, namely: Ii. sibirica, orientalis, clarkei, delavayi, wilsonii, forrestii, bulleyana, clzrysograplzes and prismatica. Of these I. prismatica has subsequently been placed in a separate series, and the name of l orie11talis has been changed to I. sangui11ea by some (2,3). Also two additional species have been added, namely I. dy kesii and I. phragmitetorum. Thus, the Series Sibiricae currently consists of ten species placed together because of morphologic similarities.

From observations of early hybridizers, it was clear that some of these species intercrossed readily, whereas such crosses rarely succeeded between others, and when successful, usually produced sterile hybrids. With subsequent developments in cytogenetics these earlier experiences of hybridizers were explained through the discovery that the species within Series Sibiricae fall into two distinct groups in terms of their numbers, namely Ii. sibirica and sanguinea ( orientalis) with 2N eq. 28 and the remainder with 2N eq. 40. On the basis of these cytogenetic differences, Simonet (4) separated the species with 40 chromosomes from Series Sibiricae and placed them in a distinct Series Chrysographes. Werckmeister has used Simonet's two Series in his Catalogue lridis 1967 (5) and this has been adopted also in the listing of seeds made available by the Species Seed Distribution of the British Iris Society (6). In the standard classifications of Lawrence (7) and Rodionenko (8), however, all the Sibiricae are retained in one Series.

From the standpoint of a horticultural society such as the Society for Siberian Irises it is important, for practical reasons, that growers of these irises understand that Series Sibiricae includes two distinct groups which are essentially incompatible genetically and which have somewhat different cultural . requirements. This is important in order to avoid disappointment among growers because of unsucc­ essful efforts at breeding and poor performance of plants resulting from inadequate growing conditions. Currently, the two groups are referred to by their chromosome number, ·i.e. the 28 chromosome group and the 40 chromosome group. These terms, while accurate, are awkward to use and have little significance to the average grower who lacks knowledge of chromosomes. They are likewise unsuitable designations for use in catalogues and lists intended for the general gardening public. As a result a number of terms have been proposed in recent years as designations for the two groups. Since this promised to cause further confusion, the Society for Siberian Irises in 1972 appointed an Ad Hoc Committee on Nomenclature to study the problem and make recommendations.

Early in the Committee's deliberations, it became clear that terminology of these irises demanded two types of consideration: first the question of taxonomic arrangement and second that of "common usage" terms. The Committee started with the assumption that it lacked competence to make taxonomic decisions and hence should limit its recommendations to common usage terms. Never­ theless, it was apparent that it must advise the Society with regard to the two types of taxonomic classification already proposed, namely that of Simonet, dividing the Sibiricae into two distinct Series, and that of Dykes, Lawrence and Rodionenko retaining them in one Series. It was the unanimous recommendation of the Committee that, at least for the time being, the Society should continue to adhere to the latter and include all ten species in a single Series (9). - 398 - From the standpoint of common usage terms, the Committee has considered a number of proposals based on the chromosome numbers, on the geographic regions where the species occur, and on the conditions under which they grow. Among geographic terms, Eurasian Siberians, Eurasian group, Siberians, Eurasiosiberians, and Northern group have been considered for those with 28 chromoso~~s; and Chinese group, Sinosiberians, Yunnan Group, Himalayan group, and Southern group for those mses with 40 chromosomes. However, in view of the fact that any appropriate common usage terms should reflect taxonomic ones, the Committee has decided that it will be best to continue for the present to designate the two groups by their chromosome numbers and postpone a recommendation regarding other terms pending a taxonomic decision.

Whereas the Committee has ruled that it should not attempt to make taxonomic decisions since that is the province of professional taxonomists, it does believe that its members should make careful observations on the species of Sibiricae which they grow in the hope that this may provide information of use to taxonomists. To that end, a careful check has been made comparing the individual features described by Dykes (1) with those observed in living plants during the 1973 blooming season. It has not been possible to include/. pilragmitetomm in these observations 1:-ut results with regard to the other nine species are as follows: there appear to be no significant differences between the 28 chromosome and the 40 chromosome groups of species as regards the leaves, stems (with the exception of /. clarkei which has solid stems in contrast with the hollow stems of the other nine species), branching, seeds, rootstock, pedicels, ovaries, falls (exce!)t for the size of their "flanges"), standards, styles, crests, stigmas, filaments, anthers or pollen color. On the other hand, both Dykes' observations and ours show four consistent differences: 1) spathes of the two 28 chromosome species are compara­ tively short, measuring about 2.5 cm. in length whereas those of the 40 chromosome species are from 5 to 10 cm. long; 2) the "flanges" at the base of the falls are small in the 28 chromosome group and longer and broader in those with 40 chromosomes; 3) the top of the seed capsule is blunt in the 28 chromosome species and "spiked" in the 40 chromosome group; and 4) mature seed capsules of the 28 chromosome species are hard, and difficult to open by hand, whereas those of the 40 chromosome group are fragile and easily opened.

The two groups differ also in their natural geographic distribution. According to Dykes (1 ), /. sibirica is native to Central Europe and and/. sanguinea (orientalis) to l\llanchuria, Korea and Japan. All the 40 chromosome species appear to be native to the Himalayan Mountains and south­ western China where most of them can be found in the Province of Yunnan.

The Committee believes that the evidence warrants separation of the two groups either into two Series or into two Subseries of a single Series Sibiricae. For practical reasons of usage and on the basis of general similarities, the Committee favors the latter, i.e. a single Series with two Subseries. The fact that fertile hybrids between the two groups do occur gives further important support to this view.

The Committee and the Society for Siberian Irises appreciate this opportunity to present its views at this Symposi:.im. The Committee has stated its thoughts regarding some of the current taxonomic questions but makes no recommendations regarding them on the ground that this is the province of professional taxonomists. We believe that additional taxonomic study could clarify some current uncertainities and hope that the efforts of the Committee may be of some usefulness to such a study. We will welcome suggestions as to additional observations that members of our Committee can make or other ways in which we can be of use in finding the answers to the questions which have been posed. References: 1. D ykes, W.R .: The Genus Iris. U niversity P ress, Cambrid~e. 19 13. 2. L awrence. G. H . M. and Randolph, L. f'.: The Classification of Iris. in R andolph, L . F. ••Garden Irises'", pagrs 133-16 0 , T he A mer­ ican Iris Society. St. Louis, , 19 5\l. 3. Luscombe. E.G. 8.: Iris S pccirs Nomf' nclatun- ..1 . orientalis", British Iris Society Ncwslt"lter, No. 54. May 1!1 73, page 7 . 4 . Simo n<'l, M. Sur la MC'iOSP d • Quelqucs H ybrides d'lris Apogon . 1. H ybrides Slbiricae. Chrysoi:raphcs, Califomicae. et Setosae. Compl. Rend. Acad . Sc,. (Pa ris). 233: 1665-1667. 195 1. 5. Wert'kmcister, P •• Catalo 11u~ lridis. 1967. N amen u nd Synon,•mc d,.s Genus Iris. D eutsch e Iris und Liliegellschafle r e. V ., Jahrbuch 1967 Teil II. 6 . Linnegar, S.: S 11tciessced distribution 1973. Br itish lri, Socid y ~J .. wslett,· · 11/o . 54, May 1973 . page 7. 7. Lawr.-nce, C.H. M.: A R eclassification of the Ge nus Iris. <, ,•11trs Htrbarum, t:.4, 346, 1953. 8. Rodioncnko. G . I.: Classification of Genus Iris and Related G.,nna. lris Ac.ii . Naul1, SSU, Moskau. 1961. 9. Ad Hoc CommlUe~ on Nom,•nclaturt-, Soc. for S ib. lrist•s: P rrhmmary Rei,ort. Tht• S iberian Iris, Vol. 3 No. 7, Spring 1973, page 11. - 399 - Or. Lee Lenz, Director of the Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Garden, admires a clump of the spuria species " Yellow" in bloom on the grounds. Good news for spuria enthusiasts is that. there now are several long rows of little spunas ( less than a foot tall) under propagation and evaluation. But few of the " modern 'ha med sp~ria hybrids exist for more than a season in ti.us garden - because every iris which shows ) virus symptoms is quickly dug up & thrown out.

The Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Garden

by Bill Gunrh1:r

Too bad that it was too far away to be included as one of the tour gardens of the San Diego Conven­ tion ... Too bad, because at the time of the convention it had bigger and better displays of Pacific Coast irises, of tall bearded species, of miscellaneous species, and of California native plants than did any of the tour gardens. Furthermore, the Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Garden offers all these attractions in an expansive uncongested natural setting. Dr. Lee Lenz, recognized as the leading authority on Pacific Coast irises, is Director of the Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Garden. He came to the AIS Convention to invite everyone to vi~it his garden before they returned home after the convention, and as a result of his personal invitation, a very substantial number of irisarians did so. The photos on the next page provide a few glimpses of what they saw. The Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Garden is located in Claremont, which is between Los Angeles and San Bernardino. The garden includes 83 acres of plantings devoted to research, conservation and education in the field of California . Major purposes of the Garden are to preserve the native California flora; to replenish the depleted: supply of some of the rare plants which are in danger of becoming exterminated; and to bring together for public enjoyment and study a large collection of native California plants. This is done under the magnificent backdrop of the nearby San Gabriel IVlountains and snow-covered Mt. Baldy.

Particularly striking is the extensive collection of multi-colored wild irises. Also notable are the plantings of manzanitas, California lilacs, fremontias, tree poppies, and bush anemones. Annuals for which California is so well known also are plentiful. The Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Garden also promotes research in the fields of botany and , and conducts a teaching program. Graduate work in botany leading to the IVIA and Ph.D.degrees is offered in collaboration with the Claremont Graduate School and Pomona College. One portion of the garden is an experimental area which is used for testing selected clones and/or varieties of California native paints before they are released to commercial trade. The garden has made a number of plant introductions of its own; these are making valuable contributions to California horticulture.

Of particular interest is the home demonstration garden. This area shows how Califronia native plants can be used effectively in landscaping small city lots. Information about the plants, and about sources of plants, is available in printed literature distributed at the garden. Those irisarians who were able to schedule a visit to Claremont after the San Diego Convention were treated to a display which constituted a glorious climax to the San Diego Convention itself.

- 400 - .-11 rig/11: 011 April 30, 197S, Dr. Lee Lenz showed one of the groups of post-co1l\'en r ion \'isitors somr of the Pacific Coast irises al the Rancho Santa Ana Botunic G3rden. ( In 1his pho10. from lrCt to right. appear Jack t>tcCaskill. Ron Lissner. then an arm and a leg which helonl! to George Stambach. then ,\rchic Owen. 1hen Duncan Eader. 1hen Bi ll Hawkinson antl hi, wife. :-.1::irguerite. and, final!~·. S1anley Foote. I

Lower righr: When we asked Dr. Lenz to pose beside one of his clumps of the species Iris mesopotamico, he at first jokingly refused. saying that he ne\•er wanted to be photographed with a TB iris. But then he relented with the thought that perhaps we should particularly note that many of the TB species regularly have taller bloomstalks, better candelabra branching and also more blos oms per bloomstalk than do the \'cry latest TB introduction which are commercially advertised and publicized by their hybridizers as being glorious advancements and achievements in every one of those specific categories.

Below: In the foreground arc some of the newly-placed rocks and waterways of a new landscape garden currently under construction. In the background is a portion of the headquarters building of the Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Garden: in this large building are the herbarium. the library, and the classrooms.

..... : - ...... - .;}.._,,> . ~- ,M_.;#·. . . .:-,;:... -- , ~ ·-.,.- · ~ - 1~ ,,. .., ~ - ;;...A'-~--· ~­ .:.- ·- ·.<·~--

401 Iris Breeding

extracted from the BROOKLYN BOTANIC GARDEN R ECORD Katherine H. Heinig

In iris, perhaps more extensively than in any other ornamental plants with the possible exception of orchids, the development of new cultivars has resulted from hybridization between species. With few exceptions the cultivars grown today are first or advance generation hybrids of different species. Many iris species hybridize readily and natural hybrids are often found where species grow in close proximity. Several well-known species, such as /. pumila, clzamaeiris and versico/or, are in fact of hybrid origin. Although crosses involving iris species belonging to the same or different subdivisions of the genus often produce fertile or partially fertile hybrids, genetic and chromosomal dissimilarities may serve as barriers to crossability. Since hybrids are usually obtained more readily from closely related species, a knowledge of botanical relationships is helpful in iris breeding.

The genus Iris is composed of somewhat more than 200 species of which more than half are grown in gardens and used in hybridizing. Botanically these are grouped into four subgenera. The subgenus Xiphium, which includes the Reticulatas as well as the Spanish, English and hybrid Dutch iris, and the subgenus Scorpiris and Juno iris are bulbous. Their native habitat is the Mediterranean basin, southeastern Europe and . The subgenus Nepalensis consists of a single species,/. decora, occasion­ ally grown for its lovely evanescent flowers. The more common garden iris are rhizomatous and comprise the large subgenus iris. This last subgenus includes the bearded Eupogon, Oncocyclus and Regelia iris and the beardless Spuria, Japanese, Siberian, Louisiana and Pacific Coast iris as well as the crested iris or Evansias. In general the beardless species have a circumboreal distribution in temp· erate latitudes.

To utilize iris species and varieties most effectively in breeding it is necessary to know their chromo· some numbers. With rare exceptions all the individuals of a species have the same number and kind of chromosomes. Although related species may have the same chromosome complement or karyotype they often differ in chromosome number, in various structural features of the chromosomes, or in the kinds and arrangements of their genes. Among bearded iris, the basic chromosome number in Eupogons is 8 or 12, Regelias 11, and in Oncocyclus 10, and some of their chromosomes differ in form also.

Polyploid species with chromosome numbers in multiples of the base number are to be found in various sections of the genus and several have proven to be extremely valuable in breeding.

Improvements in garden iris will continue to be achieved through intensive breeding of existing varieties, and there is increasing evidence that new types will be produced through the imaginative use of various species hitherto not widely used in hybridizing.

Although all of the Eupogon dwarf species may be intercrossed and crossed with diploid and tetra· plaid tall bearded species to produce various sorts of dwarf and intermediate hybrids, a few are particularly noteworthy. These are the 32-chromosome tetraploid species, /. pumila, the 48-chromo· some tetraploids l. balkana and l. aphylla, and the 24-chromosome diploid species /. mellita. reichenhachii (bosniace) and rubromarginata.

- 402 - The species /. pumila has proven especially valuable as a parent. ~any attractive miniature dwarf varieties have originated from this species. Crosses of /. pumila with 48-chromosome tall bearded cultivars yield fertile hybrids resembling the 40-chromosome dwarf /. chamaeiris. These hybrids give promise of serving as a vehicle for the transmission of desirable tall bearded traits to dwarf iris. Breeding has indicated that new gene combinations resulting in distinctive new varieties may be obtained from intercrossing existing tetraploid varieties and various untried diploid species.

Most of the breeding with beardless types is restricted to Spuria and Louisiana iris. Spuria varieties of excellent garden value have originated from crosses of /. sp11ria, oclzroleuca, momzieri and aurea. 11,e improvement of Louisiana iris has involved the use of three closely related species, I. fulva, brevicaulis and giganticaerulea, and their naturally occurring hybrids.

Several attractive hybrids have been achieved from crosses of the Pacific Coast species/. i11110minata, douglasiana and munzii, and from crosses of these species with Siberian iris. The latter hybrids are, however, highly sterile. Most of the garden varieties of Siberian iris are hybrids of the 28-chromosome species/. siberica and/. sanguinea (I. orienta/is), although interesting varieties might also be achieved thorugh the interbreeding of the 40-chromosome species /. forrestii, c/arkei, delavayi, clzrysographes, wilsonii, and bulleyana.

New iris varieties may be achieved through interspecific hybridization and by outcrossing of existing varieties to basic species. However, though genetic variability may be introduced through hybridization and some first generation hybrids may have distinct garden value, furtherbreeding is usually necessary to isolate and perfect desirable combinations of traits. This may be accomplished through line breeding of selected hybrid progeny by means of self-pollination and sib crosses (crosses of sister seedlings) . with occasional backcrosses to one or the other parent.

In general, interspecific hybrids may best be achieved between closely related diploid species of the same chromosome number or between tetraploid species. Such hybrids would be expected to be fertile and amenable to improvement through further breeding and selection. Hybrids between distantly related species or between species with different chromosome number can often be produced but since they usually are · only partially fertile they are of limited value in breeding.

.. It is not difficult to cross iris for in general the flowers are large and the and stigmatic surfaces easily accessible.

The structure of the iris flower is such that cross-pollination is the rule and self-contamination is rare except in Spuria and Siberian iris. Bees are the chief pollinating agents and if they are active some precaution against contamination is necessary. Care should be taken to use only freshly opened blooms and after pollination the falls should be broken at the base to prevent pollen laden insects landing near the receptive surface of the . In Spuria and Siberian iris it's also advisable to remove the stamens before the flo·Ner opens.

The is removed with tweezers and the pollen applied to the upper surface of each of the three stigmas. If pollen is applied with a camel's hair brush, as sometimes is necessary when stored pollen is used, the brush should be sterilized by dipping in a vial of 50% ethyl alcohol between each different cross. As soon as the flower is pollinated it should be tagged and a full record of the cross made in a notebook.

Seeds of bearded iris are harvested when they turn brown and the pods split open, usually about 60 days after pollination. At this stage the seed should be removed from the pods and air dried at room temperature. Planted in late fall they will normally germinate the following spring. Somewhat better has been reported in Louisiana iris if the seeds are harvested and planted while still green. - 403 - f H.(J-t~·~ I x1pP11um

M. W. Pry nnt' extrac.: tcd from the September. 1974 eJition o f BIS Spccit'S Group Bulletin. In 1924 Dykes noted that a vigorous early-flowering Dutch iris was being wrongly distributed under the above specific name; 50 years later, the same thing is still happening.

The true plant is, however, not difficult to identify, and imposters are correspondingly easily detected. The aim of this note is to point out certain distinct­ ive features rather than give a complete botanical description. It is based upon experience of the form found in southern Spain and Gibraltar, both in the wild and in cu ltivation.

On the Rock of Gibraltar it grows in the terra rossa in the crevices of the limestone and there were-and, one hopes, still are- good stations of the species on the eastern side of the Upper Rock.

The plant is slender in all its parts, with very narrow hollow-crescent section leaves which give it its name. In non-flowering plants these grow to con­ siderable length, two feet or so, but in a they are shorter and stiffer. The stem is slender, usually about 8-15 inches, and tends to zig-zag rather than grow straight. The habit of the plant may of course vary with the growing conditions.

The flowers are smaller than the typical Iris xiphiwn but of an intense and distinctive red-purple. The tube is about ¾ inches long, straight-sided and rather slender, in marked contrast with the typical very short, concave-sided, fairly thick tube of Iris xiphium.

The plant can, however, be firmly identified long before it reaches flowering age. A characteristic and possibly unique feature, which I have not seen mentioned elsewhere, is the sheath which surrounds the growing shoot when it first emerges from the ground, and which is blotched purple and white. Even two-year old seedlings show it.

I do not think that this iris is altogether easy to bring into flower. Imported b:.ilbs, of course, will usually flower in their first se<1son, but they are not sufficiently available. Seedlings develop slowly and some plants show small yellow marks on the leaves which may reflect a deficiency or a virus; possibly iron and magnesium are essential, as well of course as a good summer ripening. Flowering sized are about the size of a hazel-nut and their skin golden-brown in color.

The t rue iridist, iridiphile, or iridmane, will clearly regard the raising and flowering of th is charming species from seed as his or her proper and most rewarding course of action. - 404 - JAPANESE IRISES -

IN BLOOM IN TIME FOR THE CONVEN TION !

Bill Buck

Members of the Society for Japanese Irises were delighted ! Japanese irises were in bloom for the San Diego Convention ! The convention was in April, and the tall bearded iris season was so late that many of the TBs and spurias still were in bud at convention time. Ordinarily, Japanese irises don't open until a full month after TB season. But this year, although the whole iris season was late in California, some Japanese _irises blossomed so very early that a few of them were in bloom for the AIS Convention.

The photo above shows Bob Raabe of Australia, Thelma Carrington of San Diego, a Japanese iris in bloom, and Thornton Abell of Santa Monica ( he is the current President of the Society for Japanese Irises ). This photo was taken during the Japanese iris section meeting which was held on April 23 at the headquarters hotel of the 1975 AIS Convention. During the convention's garden tours, several Japanese iris varieties were in bloom for convention folks to admire. How come a named Japanese iris gets its picture published in SIGNA, which is supposed to be a w~~Ql! publication ? Because every Japanese iris i.l a species iris, that's why !

Every named Japanese iris is nothing more than a selected clone of the species . No Japanese iris is a hybrid. All the many different colors and forms of the many different Japanese iris varieties have been achieved solely by means of selective breeding within the single species Iris ensata during the course of the past 500 years. l\lo hybridization, meaning crossing of genes from different species, has been involved. (The species which now is designated as Iris ensata still is referre d to as Iris kaempferi in most references )

Among the various Sections of the American Iris Society, the Society for Japanese Irises is the only section which concerns itself with species irises exclusively. The Species Iris Study Group and the Society for Japanese Irises thus are kindred in their interests. All members of both groups should realize that the two groups, in this sense, are compatriots.

- 405 - Abnormal Pseudacorus Freeman Yendall

Normal pseudacorus was seen in many "down under" gardens visited by the AIS tour group. Abnormal pseudacorus was noticed in two gardens.

In the Sydney garden of Lucy and Paul Payens there was an iris clump with thickened wrinkled leaves about 18 inches high coming from three inch diameter rhizomes and carryin~ pseudacorus-type flowers. The appearance suggested that someone had used colchicine on pseudacorus. However, Mrs. Payens assured us that no colchicine had been used and that the curious plant had been grown from "spuria" seed obtained from Wisley.

In the Auckland garden of Phyllis Kokich there were several thick-leafed low growing plants of the same type carrying weak pseudacorus flowers and labelled /. pseudacoms var. Kuchenhof. Mrs. Kokich told me that the variety sometimes has double flowers and usually has normal foliage. She suggested that the abnormal foliage might have been due to recent transplanting.

The author has believed for a number of years that /. pseudacoms may not be the usual kind of genetic species. The belief is partly due to once reading that three different chromosome counts for this species had been reported by different botanists working with specimens from different sources. It is also partly due to one report of pseudacorus being obtained from an/. missouriensis r.?d. These two things led to the speculation that phenotypic pseudacorus may have originated by l;l number of different genetic paths. It may be a fundamental beardless type to which other species occasionally degenerate. (In preparing this article all easily obtained references gave the 34 chromosome number for pseudacorus, and no other numbers. EFY.) \ Nearly ten years ago a robin correspondent,.Mary Strode.of Oregon introduced rue to the / missourie11sis story by sending me two dissimilar plants she claimed came from the same pod of/. missouriensis X Shady lady (a TB). She called them the wide-leaved form and the narrow-leaved form. The narrow leaved form surprised me when it bloomed by being phenotypically pseudacorus. On further correspondence Mrs. Strode claimed pseudacorus did not grow in or near her garden. The chromosome count of the narrow-leafed plant might have been 34 (pseudacorus) or 38 (miss­ ouriensis); my squash was not definitive. The wide-leaved form was a very doggy looking bearded iris with a chromosome count in the sixties (again not definitive). The count made no sense to me at the time. However, the subse­ quent correction of the /. missot!r­ iensis count to 88 (SIGNA pg. 120) would let an /. missouriensis X TB cross have a chromosome count of 68. Thus my count in the sixties is now seen as a confirmation of Mary Strode's beardless X bearded cross. Also the yellow "pseudacor­ us" which grew from a blue miss­ ouriensis pod indicated that one kind of shock which might make a beardless iris degenerate to pseu­ dacorus is pollination with a beard­ ed species.

Consequently the author believes thatthe Payens "pseudacorus" may have come from a spuria which acc­ l pseudacoros identally got some bearded iris pol­ - 406 - len. Tauronga, New Zealand

Freeman Yendall

The AIS tour group visited the garden of SISG member Jean Collins near Tauronga, New Zealand. Jean and Hector Collins operate a com­ mercial nursery for ornamental plants and shrubs and specialize in iris and fuchsias. Within the nursery complex Jean Collins has a hobby ..,f species irises

The completeness of the evansia group was particularly impressive. I noticed stakes for cristala. 11•a11ii. japo11ica. /acusrri!>·. milesii. speculatrix and t<·ctorum ;Fairyland, lop-tee, Pal-tee, and Queen's Grace. Many of these carried spent bloomstalks. /. 11·alfii and Fairyland were still in bloom. The presence of 1:racilipes in bloom reminds one of l'ersi­ color when they are fresh because they· are light purple with a white spot and the standards are upright. As the flower ages the standards fall into the plane of the falls giving it a six-petalled appearance likf :, Japanese iris. The Fairyland bloom is small and white and the flower parts are so deeply lobed and ruffled that it looks like a large piece of popcorn.

Spuria cultivars grow in field rows on a 1ow hi ll top with an impres­ sive view. The small spuria species graminea and si11tenisii were found in bloom in the rock garden.

The Californian species stakes femaldii and 1e11ax were noticed in the field garden.

Siberian cultivars and seedlings were found in many garden spots. The si!>erians grow exceptionally large falls "down under".

Bearded iris are grown, but there were no bearded species noted.

Very justifyably, we were greatly impressed with the number of species irises which are growing in the Collins garden. But we we.re equally impressed by the native tropical plants which also grow there like weeds: tree ferns, orchids, bromeliads.

No irises are indigenous to the tropics, yet the Collins garden features irises along with tree ferns, orchids, and palms, all growing happily together as companion plants. Truly, to be able to thrive with such company, the various species wi thin the Genus Iris must be very highly versatile. Truly, they merit all the attention we give them.

- 4U7 DECEMBER 1878

E~irJctt!

A search for Iris was rewarded by an article in Number 12 of Volume !I. dated December. 1878. In all, a very informative article that shows that we !tal'e not progressed so 1·e,:v far after all in the 1ias1 hundred years. Selected extracts follow: The Iris This is a genus of very beautiful herbaceous perennial plants, many of them being well known popular garden flowers. It is the type of the natural order lridaceae, and embraces a large number of species, which are widely dispersed. The name is generally supposed to be derived from iris, the eye, in allusion to the beauty and variety of color in the flowers.

The Iris has been a popular flower from the earliest times, and there are few plants more celebrated in the writings of ancient historians and poets. By the early Greeks the common Flag Iris (generally known as the Flag Lily) was regarded as the symbol of eloquence, and the Egyptians carved it upon the brow of the Sphynx for the same reason. The ancients made use of some of the si:ecies as food, and several were employed for medicinal purposes.

The Iris was cultivated in England previous to the sixteenth century being described by the early writer upon gardening under the name of Floure de Lyce, and afterwards Floure de Luce. It has always been a popular flower in that country, and the common varieties are to be found in nearly every garden. The roots of several species were used for medicinal purposes, and from the petals of some a blue dye was extracted. In modern medicine the root of /. versicolor, a North American species, is sometimes employed as a cathartic and diuretic, but requires to be given with great care, as it is apt to cause distressing nausea and prostration of strength. The rhizomes of / . Pseud-acorus (The Yellow Water Flag of England) possess acrid, purgative, and emetic properties. It is so power fully astringent that it is sometimes used as a substitute for galls in making ink. Formerly it was considered to be very useful as a styptic, in cases of persons spitting or vomiting blood. The dry roots of/. flore11ti11a have a perfume like violets. In commerce they are known as Orris roots; are chewed io sweeten foul breath, and are amployed in the manufacture of tooth and hair powder. Formerly the root was considered a good specific for lung diseases, and extensively employed for flavoring medicine. The blue petals of the common Flag Iris were at one time extensively employed for obtaining a coloring matter used in watercolor painting, and for other purposes. For this purpose the petals were gathered before the flowers had expanded fully. They were then pounded into a mortar, macerated for several days in glass vessels, and then exposed to heat over a brisk fire. The roots of this kind were also at one time generally used to prevent wine or beer from getting stale, being suspended in the casks. They were also considered to impart a pleasant flavor to either wine or beer.

There are a great many species and varieties of the Iris family in cultivation. Among the different kinds nearly every color is represented, and many are beautifully marked and spotted. They are exceedingly ornamental and very effective either in the miscellaneous borders or in masses by themselves. Though most of the kinds can be easily grown, they vary in their requirements to a certain extent, some doing best in moist situations, and others in ground that is rather dry. Some also thrive best in a light sandy loam, while others require rich soil to bring them to perfection. l\llost of the species seed freely, and may be easily propagated by this means. The seed should be sown as soon as ripe in light rich soil, covering it half an inch deep. When the young plants are two or three inches high they should be planted out in small beds, leaving sufficient space between for free development. The next season they should be planted out where the plants are to bloom, which they will usually do the second year. Clumps of several plants are, as a rule, more effective than single ones, and these may be allowed to remain for several years without being disturbed. It will not, however, be advisable to leave them for too long a period, as when such is the case the flowers deteriorate through the over-crowding of the roots. - 408 - The following is a list of some of the most interesting and popular species, and though not embracing all that are worth cultivating, affords ample scope for making a good selection. l amoena-An early blooming species, embracing several varieties, from Hungary. The flowers are white and blue, and very pretty. I. aurea-A German species, with very bright deep yellow, showy flowers. I. cristata-This is a charming little North American species, of very dwarf habit, with broad leaves. The flowers are small, in color a delicate light blue, richly marked with purple. Does well in rather poor, shallow soil, and is suited for rock-work. I. dichotoma (The Afternoon lris) -A species from Dauria, interesting from the fact that its blossoms never expand till the afternoon; hence the common name. I. flavesce11s-This species, a native of the south of Europe, has beautiful pale straw-colored flowers. I. florentina (The Floretine Iris) - This is an old and popular species from the south of Europe with white handsome flowers. It embraces several varieties, varying in color from white to blue. I. germanica-A popular species from Germany with large blue flowers and broad sword-like leaves. It now embraces a large number of beautiful varieties of nearly every shade of color. The common Flag Lily of our gardens is the original type of this species. I. kaempferi or laevigata (The Japan Flag lris)- This is a vigorous species, producing an abundance of bright blue flowers and having beautiful vivid green foliage. I. Monnieri-This is a species from Greece, which bears very large brilliant yellow flowers. It is very ornamental and thrives best in a moist situation. /. nudicaulis-A species from the south of Europe, with bright blue flowers. There are several varieties. including some with double flowers. l ochroleuca-This species is a native of the Levant, and bears pale yellow flowers . on tall stems. /. persica (The Persian lris)-This is a popular species of dwarf habit, with strongly scented blue and white flowers, which are produced very early in the season. L plicata- A pretty species from the south of Europe, with blue and white beautifully veined flowers. I. Pseud-acorus (The Water Flag Lily)- This is a well-known species, with large yellow flowers, indigenous to British and other parts of Europe. It is an , and is suitable for planting round the margins of ponds, lakes or streams. I. pumila--An Austrian species of very dwarf habit, seldom exceeding eight or nine inches in height, with bright purple flowers. l. reticulata (The Netted lris)-This is a Spanish species that is very popular. It has beautiful bright blue flowers, with a deep yellow blotch, the whole being veined and spotted with purple. I. siberica-A pretty species from , with handsome light blue flowers. There are several varieties, including some with double flowers. I. susiana (The Chalcedonican lris)-This is a very beautiful species which derives its name from Susi in Persia of which country it is a native. The flowers are very large, the petals being striped with black upon a white ground, and beautifully reticulated. I. variegara-A handsome species from Hungary with striped white and blue flowers. I. xiphioides (The English lris)-This is a beautiful and popular bulbous species, with large handsome blue and yellow fl~wers. Though called the English Iris, it is a native of Spain. /. Xiphium (The Spanish lris)-This species, as the common name implies, is a native of Spain. It is bulboL.S, and bears handsome blue and yellow flowers, not so large as those of /. xiphiodes.

- 409 - Notes on Growing Variegated Irises Mrs. B. Corneille extrac ted from BIS Species Group Bulletin, September 1974

I've grown variegated irises and indeed all sorts of variegated plants and shrubs over fifteen years. Originally I used them to give an effect of sunlight in a shady garden. Now I am hooked, and it's a habit.

The two variegated forms of do very well in my present hot, dry garden. Iris pallida argentia on a very dry ledge blooms and increases well and can be distributed. In my original garden, the one fan went on wearily year after year, occasionally producing a second fan only to lose it a year later, but Iris pallidaaurea grew in less hot condition in dappled shade, increased but scarcely bloomed. It tends to resent being distributed too freely. I prefer less bloom; they are such perfect background plants for species tulips, dwarfgolcJen conifers, anemones, almost anything. They seem indifferent to the presence or absence of lime and all they ever get is a bit of bone meal.

Iris foetidissima ,,ariegata can be a bit sad unless you have a vigorous clone. It does not seem to bloom freely. I think the baking in 1973 may have helped-I have four spikes in 1974. I must admit it is a bit overgrown with . It is a brave show in winter against a large-leaved glossy ivy. I think it would grow equally well in any garden soil-it possibly would bloom more but increase less in a hot, dry place.

Over the variegated Iris kaempferi I panicked; I had no water, but that lovely lady Effie Osborn told me to plant it in neat leafmould and well rotted manure and keep it wet. This I did, and I put stones over its feet to keep it moist, and it throve, variegating and increasing well. In this hot garden it does not do so well and is much less variegated, though it receives attentive treatment.

The variegated Iris pseudaconis grows anywhere with me and is altogether amiable. The fact that it loses its variegation when mature is a drawback, as one is apt to give it away over-generously, think­ ing it is the plain one.

I personally have never been very successful with the variegated . I have tried it rich and sheltered and it gets lost under its protectors. I've tried it in cracks of paths, which can be wildly successful for some growers but not for me. Unfortunately, my only successful bloom suffered an untimely death when a wall fell on it. Now I will make one more effort, and will just put it in an ordinary bed and will warn it "This is your last chance."

I have a spuria which has one or two lovely greeny-yellow leaves wrapped around the green ones. It can't really be described as variegated, but it is most attractive anyway. This plant never has had as much fuss as it deserves, but it grows and blooms well with little or no attention.

Iris /aevigata variegata I grew in a plastic bucket but lost through inattention, but an ordinary white one has increased enormously in the same bucket, with very rich soil and a great deal of water daily in the growing months, with a mulch of well rotted cow manure.

I realise that to purists this is heresy, but I am very attached to Sisyrinchium striat11m varigatum. It grows in a very hot dry scree. I don't feed it (though the scree was rich when made five years ago). It blooms well and is a lovely background plant. It does not, as far as I can see, come true from seed, but it increases so well that one cannot complain.

I have never grown any of the variegated irises from seed but I cannot think that they come true from seed as I don't lop off the seed heads and I have never found any variegated seedlings. The soil in both my gardens has been neutral and I have added peat for the Iime-haters. I feed rather well with organic and bone meal and for the rest they take their chance with the other plants and I love them dearly, but unscientifically.

I took forward to dwarf and remontant variegated irises. I can only say "try them, for they are as easy as the others!" - 410 - A LUNCHEON FOR CHUCK 1 2 3 and it IS GONE! Richard Arango

Three seconds is all it takes. In three seconds Chuck ------, can gobble up a whole blossom of a species iris, and he obi igingly demonstrated his ability to some of the out-of-state visitors to the 1975 AIS Convention. ..r

The visitors who viewed Chuck's demonstr~tion were fascinated. To them, this was something new and very different. Back home in their own gardens, they all were familiar with ordinary varm ints which eat irises. Varmints like and snails and like caterpillars and rabbits. Every irisarian is painfully familiar with insect damage to irises. But how many of them have even heard about lizard damage ? ?

Chuck is a lizard. He is a big lizard - about 28 inches long. He arrived at Bill Gunther's house in Del Mar, California, about seven years ago. No one knows where he came from. But when he arrived, he liked the looks of the warm red tiles on the roof of the house, so he climbed up to that roof and made it his home, and he has lived there ever since. During the cool part of the year he hibernates under the tiles, and every night he sleeps under the tiles. But on warm days he climbs on top of the nice warm tiles, and there he basks in the sunshine. He basks in the sun until he decides that it is lunch time. Then he looks for some tender iris blossoms to eat. The photographs on !his page, taken at one second intervals, show what happens when he gets in reach of a big blossom of the species Iris 1mg11icularis alba, wh ich is one of his particular favorites.

In the inland desert regions of San Diego County there are big lizards which are called chuckawallas. Occasionally a specimen wanders a·Nay from the desert toward the coast, and when Chuck arrived in Del I\Aar it was assumed that he was a chuckawalla; and that is why he was named Chuck. Subsequently, a human-type garden visitor whose interests include reptiles as well as irises saw Chuck, examined him closely, and then announced that Chuck is not a chuckawalla at all. Rather, he is an iguana, and he must have come from somewhere far to the south of the !Vie x ica n border. But even if he is not a chuckawalla, he still is known as Chuck. And after all these past seven years, he now is a regular member of the household. That being so, he is entitled to his share of the beautiful irises which grow in the garden. Even if he just eats them up. And even if they are species irises ! ! ! - 411 Here we go again I Reclassification of the Spuria Specjes . .- ., . ~ Jim LaMaster

Among the many types of irises, the spuria species are par1icular/y remarkable for tlteir wide diversity in siz~ and s_hape and for the 1•ast range of rheir natural habitat. This great dh,ersity within the spuria group is /tart of the reaso11 why tlte taxonomic classification of the spuria species always seems to be in a state of hopeless chaos and 1111certai11ty. . ' ' At the present time. it is particularly purposeful to spotlight a few of the u11certai11ties which pertain as regards classification of tlte spuria species. Tlte reason for tltis is that the American Iris Society now is in rite early stage of rite process of preparing a new book which will be titled THE WORLD OF IRISES. In /ropes that any spuria species classification which migltt be published in tltat new book might be as valid as possible, all interested individuals should submit t/1eir suggestions regarding spuria species in time such that their ideas can be considered for incorporation into tlte text of tlte new book. As a foundation for such suggestions, we present below the spuria species classification which currently is recognized and published by lite Spuria Iris Section of tire AIS, and also some very recent comments tltereon which have been submitted by Dr. George Rodio11e11ku. a noted taxonomist and the Director of the Leningrad Botanical Garden, USSR. ·1 SPURIA SPECIES ( R!!printed from the 1973 revised CHECKLIST of the Spuria Iris Society ) L brandzae Prodan. Rumania. Blue; much like L urumovii. L carthaliniae Fomin. 1909 - . Syn. :Cathalinae; Carthaline, Fomin. L crocea (Jacq. ex Baker) 1876 - . Syn. ? : J. aurea Lindl. ; Xyridion aureum Klatt. L farreri (Dykes) 1915-Tibet, W. China. Collected, Farrer. I. graminea Linn. 1753 - Cent. & S. Europe, Spain to Persia, . Blue. Grass Iris. Syn. ? : Adami, Wills; Qill7Qnnensis, Darracq; compressa, Moenich; Euxiphion m:_~ineum, Alef.; I. qraminea latifolia, Spach; gramineavar. larn­ prophyll~, Lange; qraminea longifolia, Lipsky; graminea sylvatica, Richter; gramim~a var. pseudocyperus; pseudocyperus, Schur; pseudocyPerus. Borbas; pseudocyperus, Eaker~ pseudog:raminea, Schur; sylvatica, Balbis; suavis, Salib.; Xyridion graminea, Klatt. · · I. halophila Pallas. 1773 - W. to N. Central Asia. Light blue. Syn. ? : halophila Ker-Gawl; Gueldenstaedtiana, Lepechlin; desertorum, Ker.; musulmanica, Fomin; sogdiana. Bunge; stenogynia, Detar.; spuria var. halophila. L hum.His (M.. B.) 1808 -Western Russia, Caucasus. Dark spuria feathered blue­ toned. Syn. ? : Alpinaadultior, Pallas; humilis, Alef. ; Ioniris humilis. Klatt; oontica, Zapal; Ludwigii. Maxin. I. kerneriana Ascher & Baker. 1884-Asia Minor. Yellow. Syn.?: Haussknechtii. Bornm. ; Gransaultii, Siehe. I. klatti Kem. Nat. I. maritima Lam. 1778 (1779) - Southern France. Syn. ? :1, g_r,uria var. maritima, Dykes. I. monnieri De Candolle. 1808 - unknown. Yellow toned self. I. ochroleuca Linn. 1771 - Greece, Lebanon, Tripoli, Iran, Turkey, Thrace. · - w·hit-e self, ye"tlow toned. Syn. ?:. gigantea, Carriere; ochraleuca_; ochroleca; orientalis, Miller. .. . _ . I. sintenisii Janka. 1874 - S. Italy, Balkans, Turkey, Greece, Crete, Syria. Blue. Syn. 'i : gramine~ var. sinteni3ii; lorea, Janka. - 412 - L sonqarica Schrenk. 1841-Iran, Central Asia, N. China. Syn.?: Ioniris songarica, Kl2.tt; l. oxypetala, Meyer; var. mulUflora, 0. Ktze. I. spu:cia Linn. 1753 - Central & South Europe, Spain to Persia, Algeria. Blue. Syn. '?: Reichenbachiana, Klatt; _Spathul:ita, Lam.; spatulee, Jaume St. Hi. ; Xyridion spurium; Reichenbacl1ianum, Klatt; L daenaensis, Kotschy; L spuria subbarbata, Joo. : L spuria hispanica, Willie.

L spuria as used by most authors is a collective name and includes an unknown number of specifically distinct taxa. Iris spuri~ L. is native to certain areas in central and northern Europe and it has not entered into the parentage of the garden spurias to any great extent, if at all. It has 22 chromosomes.

L urumovii Vetenovsky. 1902 - Bulgaria. Blue. Syn. ?:I. sintenisii var. urumovii, Vet.

Botanical Gardens, Popova Street No. 2 Leningrad, P-22, USSR April 8. 1975 Dear l\~r. Gunther, Thank you very much for sending me a copy of the Spuria Iris Society's current check list of spuria species and cultivars. I am very grateful to you for that publication. It is a pity, however, that there are several notable mistakes which appear in the list of spuria species , as published in that check list, as follows:

1. M. B., described in the year 1819 and native to the , does not appear in the list . It should be added.

2. Iris mus11lma11ika Fomin must be transferred so that it appears as a of Iris klalli Kem. Nat. rather than as a synonym of .

3. It is necessary that Iris Ludwigii Maxim be deleted from the synonyms of , and that it be added as an additional principal spuria species. ( I have studied /. Ludwigii, which is native to East , and have determined that among the spuria species it is a distinct individual species. It is not a synonym ! )

4. It is necessary to add to the list of spuria species Iris demetrii Ach. et ~irz. This is a spuria species whose native habitat is the mountainous area of .

5. Finally it is necessary to delete Schrenk from the list of spuria species because it is not a spuria; rather it belongs to the sub-genus Limniris.

Sincerely yours, r-~~ oo() ( (L.i / ,.W,;, JlJr._,,,.,. WVY A/-1~ Dr. George Rodionenko

Editor's note: All i11di11id11als who desire to submit otber comments and recommendations regarding possible changes in the classification of the spuria species may address their comments directly to Bee Warburton. who is sen•ing as the Editor of the new AIS book THE WORLD OF IRISES. With 101,)tue in cheek. we express co11fide11ce that Bee will be able to reconcile all differences of opi11io11 so that the new hook. wl,e11 .it is published. mi{:ltl incfm/(, a definitive classification of the spuria species which will hal'e the co11c111n'11ce of all taxo110111ists and all members of rite AIS. - 413 - Garden Tour text and photos by Bill Gunther

She is a professional actress. She also is a housewife. And she is the Southern California Iris Society's Editor. And she is AIS Region 15's l\11embership Chairman. And she is proprietor of a commercial iris garden. And on top of all that, purely as a spare time hobby thing, she also grows a remarkable variety of species irises. She grows them well.

Her name is Dodo Denney. Dodo and her artist husband, Alan, live at 477 Upper IV'esa Road, Santa Monica, California 90402. At that address she maintains a fascinating commercial iris garden which is called "Canyon Garden". The name is fitting, because nearly all of the property is on a steep canyonside. It is so very steep that to get to the front door of the Denney home from the street, one must descend down sixty-five ( 65 ) stairs, flight after flight. Worse, to get back to the street one must ascend all those stairs. There simply is no other access or egress.

Maybe it is all that climbing, repeated day after day, which keeps Alan and Dodo in such trim physical shape that they accomplish a great many things, seemingly without effort, while many of the rest of us, who accomplish much less, think that we are tired and overworked. Or maybe it is just that Dodo and Alan are younger than the rest of us, and therefore more energetic.

Whatever the reason, it is true that for anyone who can manage to climb all those steps, Canyon Garden is a joy to behold. In addition to irises, it features many different trees, shrubs, and other plants, all of which seem perfectly coordinated one with another and with the Denney home, which was designed by the noted architect Thornton Abell, who also just happens to be a noted irisarian too, and who also just happens to live only two doors away from the Denneys.

Space limitations here do not permit more than a tantalizingly few photos of the many many attractions in the Denney Garden. To see them all, one must visit ·the garden. A personal visit there during iris season combines the charm of the blossoms with the beauty of the setting and with the personality of the proprietors; the total impact is intense, and very memorable.

If you can be near Santa Monica during iris season next year, try to include in your itinerary a visit to the Canyon Garden, personally conducted by the Denneys. Their telephone number is 213-459-1621.

This blossom, in vertical perspective, does not look at all like an iris, but an iris it is. It is a form of the swamp species Iris laevigata alba, from the orient, and it grows very happily in Canyon Garden.

414 \ The one and only flat spot at the Canyon Garden is the lawn area immediately west of the home. Patterns of sunlight and shadow enhance its beauty. It is an ideal setting for lounging, and Alan and Dodo Denney and Ray Chesnik, of Cordon Bleu Farms, obligingly did sprawl limply for this picture of idle loafing. But it was just a pose. As soon as the photograph was taken , Dodo was on her feet again a nd the garden tour was resumed. ~...... _ _.~

Dodo Dsyad mits that she "really pampers" her little plant of the tiny species Iris lacustris. But in response to her pampering it act ually bloomed for her this year; this macro-lens photo was taken in Canyon Garden in May of 1975. It is a safe bet to say that Canyon Garden is the only place in all of AJS Region 15 where Iris lacustris can be found alive. Even in nature it is rare and transient; its natural habitat is limited to a few scattered low spots along the shoreline of Lake Superio r - a drastically different environment and climate than is offered by southern California.

> > .~5-. A round clump of Iris gracilipes, a crested species from China, displays its delicately appealing blossom and its akimbo foliage for visitors to admire. The plant label, about two inches wide, provides perspective to show how tiny is this species. This plant, at Canyon ..,~.,,. Garden, appears doubly attractive because of its setting: it is nested in a cool green bed of Helxine soleirolii. which popularly is called " baby's tears "

- 415 - THE GREAT BOOK ON IRISES ... REPRINTED COMPLETE AND UNABRIDGED WITH ALL COLOR PLATES .i.,.. THE > ..,,,, GENUS IRIS WILLIAM RICKATSON DYKES

One of the great, legendary books in the history of gardening is The Genus Iris by William Rickatson Dykes. First published in a limited edition in 19 I 3, by the world's foremost authority on the iris, it was immediately recognized as a landmark in the literature for its ex- ~­ haustiveness, accuracy, and classification system. It established for r the first time the classificatfon of the irises, converting what had been a chaos of species and nomenclature into a clear grouping that made sense from both the botanical and horticultural points of view; this classification has remained the basis for all future work in the field.

48 REMARKABLE FULL-COLOR PLATES One of the most arresting features of The Genw Iris results from the collaboration of F. H. Round, who prepared 47 watercolors of the iris plants, all except one growing in Dykes's own garden. These

botanical illustrations ever prepared, and have rendered Round's name immortal among plant portraitists. A final color plate was prepared by Miss R. M. Cardew, and there arc also 30 line drawings by C. W. Johnson.

The dimensions or each page of this impressive book measure fully 8 1Ai" x 121!.". By comparison, get out a ruler and measure the page size of nny book in your library, even including your encyclopaedia. ~

WILLIAM RICKATSON DYKES ~ Born 1877, died 1926. Educated at Wadham College, Oxford, and at the Sorbonne, Paris. He was Secretary of the Royal Horticultural Society at the time of his death, and he had been Assistant Master of Charterhouse during the years I 903-1919. Besides The Genus Tris (1913), his publications included Irises (1911), Handbook of Garden Irises (1924), and The lomte I System of Pruning ( 1925). While growing many irises in his own garden, he created the first completely yc.llow tall bearded ~ variety, given the name "W. B. Dykes" by his widow. In , 1926, the British Iris Society instituted the Dykes Memorial I Medal as a memorial to him. It is now the highest award for an iris, and it may be given annually to two varieties of proven garden merit, one in England. and the other in the United ci, States or Canada. " l)lustrated above are excelJ)ls from Dykes' THE GENUS IRIS, which has been newly reprinted by Dover Publication The publicity here is not for commercial P.Urposes; rather it is simply to inform all interested readers that th;· . .,abr reprint now is available. The review or this Dykes book which appeared in SIGNA 14 might deserve rerea, n li this announcement of republication. Members of the Species Iris Study Group are assured that THE GENUS IRIS concerns itself almost exclusively witn spP.cie In this regard, it stands almost unique among all iris books. For that precise reason, it can be reprinted unabridg \\ any reediting, and ii still remains almost as vaJuable a current reference as ii was in 19 13. ( By contrast compa ,1 omer iris books, more recent in origin, which are just as outdated as those TB hybrids of their time which they falk ab< lengthy, laborious! expensive reediting and updating process is a necessary preliminary to reprinting such books, after wl they again rapid y become outdated. ) T. o obtain your CORY of the rep_rint of THE GEN~S IRIS, send a check in amount $20.35 directly to Dover Publications 180 Varick Street, ~ew York, New York 10014. New York residents add appropriate sales tax. J Specify THE G~NU by W. R. Dykes, Dover Publications code no. 230 7-6, and provide your return mail address in type or in very legible i: - 416