Re: FW: PA Dwarf Iris

 

Not likely to be I. verna, not at 8-10 inches tall.  I. cristata can get that high in excellent circumstances, but that spent stalk kinda reminds me of I. domestica.

I note just by way of caution the location -- Colton Point State Park -- and the Wiki on it: "The gorge is home to many species of plants and animals, some of which have been reintroduced to the area."  This location was clear-cut in the late 19th century, and I mean nothing left alive if you look at the photographs from that time, and was subsequently set aside as park and gradually restored.  We cannot assume the iris here is indigenous, especially if it's on the point which gets heavy traffic from visitors.  This is a prime birders' spot, with excellent views of bald eagles that now populate the site again.

Doug Paschall
Delaware Valley of PA



On Wed, Aug 10, 2016 at 10:01 AM, Ken Walkup k*@cornell.edu [iris-species] <i*@yahoogroups.com> wrote:
 

Hi everyone,
Here's another ID situation. The attached photos are not so clear; to help the writer decipher the mystery, I sent him some very clear photos of cristata rhizomes, on the theory that once you know cristata, it's hard to mistake for anything else. He says what he has doesn't look anything like my cristata photos. Based on these attached photos, admittedly not so great, could this be verna?
I did a little looking around on line, and verna is recorded as being in PA, but Williamsport is in the northern part of the state only a few miles south of the NY border. It would be surprising to find it there, I think.
Ken

-----Original Message-----
From: swm1 [mailto:s*@ptd.net]
Sent: Monday, August 8, 2016 7:38 AM
To: Ken Walkup <k*@cornell.edu>
Subject: PA Dwarf Iris

krw25,

Hello. Found your email address on line in regards to SIGNA.

I am retired and live in Wellsboro, PA (Tioga County in north central PA). I do a lot of hiking in our area on state forest and state park lands in search of rare and unusual native plants.

Last week I found what I think is a dwarf iris. It is growing in one very small patch (5 fans of leaves) with red cedar on a rock ledge at the base of a white pine.

Although we are well out of their natural ranges, it may be either Iris cristata, Iris verna, Iris verna var. smalliana, or Iris verna var. verna.

See attached photos. What do you think?

Mark Simonis
610-551-2735


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