Re: Re: Eleanor Roosevelt

Dave Ferguson's comments concerning the more-or-less sterile IB's show generally the same understanding I have had with a single exception.  "Atropurpurea" is listed under the HIPS 'Kochii' entry as a synonym for that cultivar.
 
Dave's speculation concerning the origin of 'Eleanor Roosevelt' as being from the pollen of a (*pumila* x *lutescens*) hybrid is an interesting and appealing thought.  I'm not aware of any other evidence of any circulation of authenitc *pumila* clones in the U. S. that early, but the suggestion makes sense of the chromosome count--if accurate.  Such an origin might allow at least a little fertility, however, judging by more recent hybrids of fairly similar nature, many (but not all) of which will produce a few viable seeds on occasion.
 
I am under the impression that the *pumila* clones in possession of the Sass brothers of that generation were all actually *lutescens.*
 
Counting chromosomes is a very difficult matter with irises.  The slides are difficult to prepare, the chromosomes are small, and the depth-of-field of an oil-immersion 300 power lens on even the best of microscopes is so thin that constant adjustment of the focus up and down through the vertical diameter of the cell nucleus is required in order to make the counts. So is the delicate repositioning of the slide required to span the horizontal diameter.  If the counted nucleus just happens to have one or more of the shorter chromosomes underneath one of the longer ones a chromosome count can be short one or two.  Generally an exceptional count becomes more credible when replicated by more than one sample and one technician.
 
Both optics and the technology involved have improved somewhat since the time of the published counts but there is no pressing economic reason to repeat them with contemporary and advanced equipment.
 
I am in agreement with Dave that the clones in question are generally of the 'Germanica' type, although I repeat what I have said before.  To my understanding the nomen *Iris germanica* actually refers only to the single clone typed and recorded by Linneus   Numerous other clones of the same general constitution do exist, but are not ideally referred to as 'Germanica,' even with an "x" inserted into the name.  That usage seems to be gaining ground and shared understanding and is certainly justified both by morphology and genetic constitution and also certainly has semanitic validity even if it lacks taxonomic accuracy.
 
Neil Mogensen   z  7  western NC

Yahoo! Groups Links
Other Mailing lists | Author Index | Date Index | Subject Index | Thread Index