Iris pallida

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Hi,

 

I may be missing something here, perhaps coming in in the middle and not having seen all of the discussion.  It sounds as if there is an impression that the plicata pattern is not expressed in I. pallida?

 

Here is my two cents worth.  I don't know much about the inheritance of patterns yet, but am learning.  I have been collecting and growing diploid cultivars, and have a great interest in them.

 

I have grown several cultivars that I have no reason to doubt are pure I. pallida, and they definitely express a plicata pattern.  These include:

 

Prince Charming

True Charm

True Delight

 

'Saint Clair' is a parent to some of the above, and it is (was) a plicata as well, but I don't know if it is still around.

 

According to most of the literature, the original I. plicata is believed to have been a pure I. pallida as well.

 

Interestingly, I don't think any of these belong to ssp. cengialtii, but rather all to the more typical subspecies.  However some of them do have rather small flowers.

 

Of these, apparently 'True Delight' is unique in that the dark coloring is of the rose-pink type instead of the blue-violet.  However, while 'Damozel' is listed as "blue", the photo I have seen leans distinctly toward pinkish (if the color in the photo is accurate, the published description may be off a bit?).

 

My personal opinion (not based on much except seeing a lot of diploid cultivars) is that the pattern of I. variegata and the I. pallida plicata pattern may be related genetically, and various expressions and compliments of those genes interact in complicated ways that may have lead to many of the patterns we now see in TB Iris cultivars.  I suspect that a large percentage of modern plicatas have genetics from (at least) both species involved, as the patterns are often more complicated, in ways that suggest I. variegata.  In the I. pallida plicatas the markings are always concentrated toward the edges of the tepals.  I suppose the fact that most modern bearded Iris are tetraploid, and can carry more duplicate genes, this could affect the pattern in such ways too?

 

I've also noticed that there is a distinct "look" to many of the first generation tetraploid hybrids that were derived from (I. pallida X I. variegata) X TB tetraploid species.  There are many of these, such as 'Alcazar', 'Ambassadeur', 'Dominion', 'Prospero', 'Rameses', etc.  There has been a lot of discussion of these tetraploids in respect to the "umbrata" pattern lately, and I suspect that they have a strong influence on the plicata pattern too.

 

Far from the expert, but just couldn't resist such an interesting subject.

 

Dave