Re: HIST: I. germanica or 'Germanica'?


> From: laurief <laurief@paulbunyan.net>
 
> I'm confused.  Iris germanica - Is this a species as the presentation of 
> the name in both the '39 CL and in the photo gallery on the HIPS site 
> would indicate, or is it, as is stated in TWOI, a hybrid intermediate of 
> unknown origin which has been assigned the *cultivar* name 'Germanica'?  
> If 'Germanica' (cultivar name) is correct, has that correction been made 
> in any CL since '39?  
> Is it correctly I. germanica in italics (species) or Iris 'Germanica' 
> (cultivar)?

Laurie,

I haven't seen that anyone has fielded this question yet, so I will try a
first attempt at responding to it.

It seems the basic fact is that the taxonomy of bearded irises is a can of
worms. Clarence Mahan has written some very insightful articles recently
dealing with aspects of this complex of problems, though I am not aware
that he has addressed the germanica question yet.

There is still some doubt, I believe, concerning which iris Karl Linne
(Linnaeus), the Father of Taxonomy, described under the name Iris germanica
in the mid-1700's. Most students of the issue seem to believe it is the
iris referred to as I. germanica vulgaris by Dykes (1913) and as I.
germanica in the 1939 AIS Checklist. Dykes himself recognized that this
iris was not a true species, and it has since been confirmed by chromosome
analysis that it is a 44-chromosome hybrid of limited fertility. However,
by the priority of Linnaeus description, it is the Type Species for the
entire Genus Iris, and might therefore be very inconvenient to formally
oust from its species status. At least, I am not aware that this has been
done. There are fully fertile, 48-chromosome tetraploid irises of the
germanica type in existence, such as I. croatica, that might have been what
Linnaeus thought he was describing when he possibly got it mixed up with a
specimen of the common "germanica". The whole matter appears to be
extremely murky, to say the least. One thing that is certain is that the
AIS has not moved I. germanica from species to cultivar status, at least
through 1999.

Jeff Walters in northern Utah  (USDA Zone 4/5, Sunset Zone 2, AHS Zone 7)
HIPS Commercial Source Chairman
jcwalters@bridgernet.com






















 

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