Re: Iris versicolor vs. virginica

Christy, Dennis, Ken, Jim Giubbons et al.
 
I am valuing this discussion. I know I have some of both, but d. if I can distinguish clearly among them.
 
I think we need to recruit Jim Gibbons into this discussion since he lives where I. virginica grows naturally, and he sent me some seed about four years ago.
 
I have other interests besides iris, and I was still working full time until midsummer last year. My markers fade, my color coded paper clips get moved, and I do not always keep my plot maps up to date. When one resident dies in one of my nursing home bed, I mean in my flower beds, I plug in another as soon as convenient from my stash of seedlings growing in one gal. recycled food cans.
 
Ken,  your theory is what I read in books. I don't think I should let every plant set seeds just for purpose of identification, or should I?
 
Nor am I likely to uproot plants just for identification.
 
Though Jim Gibbons & I are on the same lattitude, he has the gulf stream and is at sea level, and I am in zone 7, at 2000'.  We have lots of rain and humidity, but I know that both plants are likely to be larger in their native habitats. 
 
The might also be called diversiform.
 
I have understood that versicolor is more likely to be BRANCHED, but almost all mine are.
 
I hav e understood that versicolor is more likely to feature yellow in the signal and less white. This I see in many specimen.
 
But there is so much general variaation, especially in the size of the standards.
 
I am beginning to suspect that there is a good bit of natural hybirdization in the gardens which supply seed to our seed exchange.
 
I have not submitted many seed to the exchange so far, for I do not want to send in anything unless I am confident that it is accurately labeled, so have limited myself to seed I have harvested in Hungary & Romania.
 
I do not find the virginica seed as corky nor as large as lousiana seed. I have no difficulty germinating v & v, but great difficulty germinating lousianas which are now really showing off for me.
 
If Dennis can get an group of photos from a sure site, and Jim Gibbons can supply us some from E. NC then we might be able to sort out the differentiating characteristics. Meanwhile, they are very beautiful.
 
I took more photos today, following the advice to photo before or after the brightest son, but put my camera down and cannot at the moment find it.
 
 
James Harrison.
----- Original Message -----
Sent: Tuesday, May 31, 2005 10:54 PM
Subject: Re: [iris-species] Iris versicolor vs. virginica

One theory is that Iris versicolor originated as a tetraploid
hybrid of Iris setosa and Iris virginica and has since evolved
independantly. The distinguishing characteristic of Iris setosa
seeds is a very promiment ridge along one edge. At least some
versicolors shows a hint of this feature, though I. versicolor
murrayana does not. I'm attaching a composite photo of the
seeds of the four types of iris. It only contains one clone of
each type, so it is hardly a definitive study. But I think it is
interesting. The scales are in mm.

Ken Walker


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