Re: HISTORIC: Berkeley Gold ??

Thanks for the suggestion Linda, but it's definitely not Lady Emma.  The
over-all color and "look"of the two cultivars is similar, but
the Spathes are different, the flower proportions and the way the petals
are held are different, the veining on the falls of Lady Emma is better
developed and the standards are lighter.  The hafts of my Iris (notably on
the standards) are strongly striped with brown, this being very visible
"inside" the flower.  It is so nearly exactly like the photos of 'Berkeley
Gold' that I never had any doubts about it's identity, till now.

I wish it did match, I'd like to find the name of the plant.  It is
probably a "plain Jane" in most Irisarian's eyes, but in mine it is a
beautiful plant with some very desirable qualities.  Having no name won't
stop me from using it (assuming it is fertile).  I suspect it is first or
second generation of tetraploid [old] TB and I. lutescens ancestry and that
the chromosome number will be roughly 44.  It wouldn't even surprise me too
much if it is a "wild" yellow I. germanica clone, but I've never heard of
such a thing.

I suspect (without checking) that Lady Emma is of I. variegata and I.
pallida ancestry and is probably a diploid (2n = 24)?

Another one I've been eying as a possible match (I've ordered one) is
'Southland', but the only photo I've seen is washed out and hard to
compare.  Even so, I don't think it's the same thing, it seems to be a
lighter shade of yellow with less marking (?).  I think 'Southland' might
have a larger flower too, as I've seen it listed as a BB.  I've found a few
old names that judging by pedigree might be similar to my plant, but I
can't really find out anything about them, and I haven't found any pictures
nor real descriptions yet.  These include 'Ambera', 'Chiltern Gold',
'Crysoro', 'Golden Bow', 'Maygold', 'Ta-Wa', and, 'Trinkador'.  I'm sure
there must be many more.

I really need to get my scanner going so I can send photos in!

Dave

---------------------------------------------------------------------
To sign-off this list, send email to majordomo@hort.net with the
message text UNSUBSCRIBE IRIS
Other Mailing lists | Author Index | Date Index | Subject Index | Thread Index