Re: Re: naming irises

 

ÂI once attended a lecture by one of the principal horticulturalists responsible for writing much of the code of nomenclature for cultivated plants. At his lecture he pointed out that a plant that fits the description of a cultivar, is that cultivar. I was shocked. I asked him to verify that if a cultivar is lost and someone repeats the cross and comes up with a plant fitting the description of that cultivar, it is now that cultivar. He affirmed that was the case.


That is rather shocking. I suppose it's difficult to make the concept fit every conceivable situation, from perennials to seed strains of annuals to variation in nutrition value of crops.

I was always under the impression that written descriptions of cultivars are invariably not good enough to identify the plant in question. A good photo helps. I'll be sure to include a DNA sample in the description of any plant I introduce :)

Sean Z

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