Hi Vic,
Both are in bloom now, one yellow and the other blue. The original
plans had only Iris versicolor and pseudocorus on them along with
other native plants such as pickerelweed. They were then supposed to
substitute Cardinal Flower and additional iris versicolor for the
pseudocorus. Obviously that didnt' happen with 100% accuracy so I
can't be really sure of anything!
One poster mentioned that their versicolor has a few prominent veins
and that they were less sharpley pronounced than in pseudocorus. On
the web I've found mention of its foliage being ribbed yet on other
sites from close-up photos no veins were obvious.
Is Versicolor a variable species in the wild? Also how much
difference is there between cultivars?
Whatever blue iris we have down there it is tall (some of it leaves
reach 5'), with flower stalks significantly lower than the leaves,
with smooth foliage that is somewhat narrower (3/4" vs. 1") and
slightly darker bluer green than the pseudacorus leaves. It may be a
mystery but the smooth foliage has the advantage of making it easily
distinguishable from the pseudocorus. (When I say smooth I mean no
prominent veins. All veins are the same size and quite small,
visible only on close inspection, with about 15 of them running
closely spaced next to each other up the strap.)
The Mid-Atlantic has fairly mild growing conditions so I imagine the
pseudocorus would grow pretty well here - though probably not as well
as in Florida!
-Helen
--- In iris-species@yahoogroups.com, <vwak@...> wrote:
>
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: Vwak@...<mailto:Vwak@...>
> To: iris-species@yahoogroups.com<mailto:iris-
species@yahoogroups.com>
> Sent: Tuesday, May 20, 2008 8:49 PM
> Subject: Re: [iris-species] Re: Distinguishing Pseudacorus from
Versicolor?
>
>
> Helen,
>
>
>
> I have been reading the postings of how to distinguish I.
pseudacorus, I. virginica, and I. versicolor with much interest.
>
>
>
> First, I agree that pseudacorus should be removed from the
habitat. In my part of the world (SE US) it can take over and crowd
out desirable native wetland plants, including native irises.
>
>
>
> If one is familiar with the above mentioned irises one can tell
most pseudacorus by looks and size. It usually is taller than the
other species.
>
>
>
> I am very dubious about distinguishing virginica by the cauline
leaves frequently overtopping the flowers. I grow some virginica
clones originally collected from the wild where the norm is for the
flowers to be above the leaves. I have seen wild populations where
that is the norm.
>
>
>
> Even though versicolor is not native to the lower south, I grow
some clones originally from further north. Helen's statement that
the versicolor leaves in the area under question are perfectly
smooth, i.e., they have no center ridge surprised me. In far as I
can recall, I have always seen a center ridge on all pseudacorus,
virginica, and versicolor clones that I have looked at. I
immediately went out in my garden and the versicolor in my garden all
had center ridges.
>
>
>
> Is it possible that some other species of iris has been planted?
>
>
>
> Vic
>
>
>
> Victor W. Lambou
>
> Crawfordville Florida
>
> Zone 8B
>
>
>
>
>
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: hldlily<mailto:hdeclercq@...>
> To: iris-species@yahoogroups.com<mailto:iris-
species@yahoogroups.com>
> Sent: Tuesday, May 20, 2008 3:51 PM
> Subject: [iris-species] Re: Distinguishing Pseudacorus from
Versicolor?
>
>
> Hi Kenneth and James,
>
> I went down to the stream and since versicolor is also in bloom I
was
> able to identify the plants and compare their foliage. Sure
enough,
> the pseudacorus has a nice sharp ridge down the center that is
easily
> seen and felt while the versicolor we have is totally smooth.
Even a
> lay person like myself couldn't mistake them - now that, thanks
to
> the species-iris group, I know what to look for.
>
> The watershed director is very happy that we won't have to pull
> everything up. Besides the painful thought of losing hundreds of
blue
> iris we would have had a freshly denuded landscape, a landscape
just
> recovering from all the construction work last year.
>
> Thanks so much for your help!
>
> -Helen
>
> --- In iris-species@yahoogroups.com<mailto:iris-species%
40yahoogroups.com>, Kenneth Walker <kenww@> wrote:
> >
> > Helen,
> >
> > Looking at several varieties of each species in my garden,
> pseudacorus
> > does have a prominent ridge in the center of the leaf composed
of a
> > single vein. Versicolor has a less prominent ridge composed of
3
> veins.
> > I'd suggest someone compare leaves from a sample of plants in
the
> > wetland to see if they can be divided into two categories. Each
> > volunteer could be armed with a sample leaf from each species
when
> > identifying the pseudacorus for eradication.
> >
> > Ken Walker
> >
> > James Harrison PhD wrote:
> > >
> > > Pseudacorus has a sharp vein in the middle of each leaf. Some
> other
> > > iris have a less prominent vein, like JI, but I think this is
> the
> > > easy way to pick out Pseudacorus.
> > >
> >
>
