It's a real problem. I found a remarkable "mystery" bearded iris in a residential area in town and stuck a marker in my pot with the notation "Stanhope Avenue". Someone in trade saw mine, went out and snagged a start, forgot in the shuffle that it was just my study name, and and the next thing I knew she was selling it as "Stanhope Avenue." The iris turned out to be 'Color Carnival" for heaven's sake, about as frisky a TB as can be.
In my opinion--others would not agree--you can ethically sell an iris with a study name where that is clearly understood to be the case, and not likely to be mistaken for a "real" name, but not sell one with a wrong name, where the wrong one might be wrong for any of several reasons. The rose folks get Unknowns into circulation this way, and over time some get identified through this means.
AMW
-----Original Message-----
From: Diane Whitehead <voltaire@islandnet.com>
To: iris-species@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Tue, Dec 7, 2010 2:44 pm
Subject: Re: [iris-species] Re: 'Gerald Darby': Seeds, Descriptions, Nomenclature
Polly
I have happily bought unnamed plants, so I don't think you should
withdraw your plant from your catalogue. Just name it "mystery". No,
that wouldn't do. I can see it carrying on through the years as Iris
"Mystery".
Maybe "lost label".
Diane
On 7-Dec-10, at 11:24 AM, C*@aol.com wrote:
>
> I think you are to be commended on being scrupulous about the
> identity and provenance of what you sell.
