Re: AIS: REF: AIS as International Registration Autho

I haven't had time to read through this entire thread, so please forgive 
me if my points have already been stated by others.

>certainly OTHER PEOPLE understand these problems and would be foolish if 
>they tried to use photos for more than they are capable of providing. ... 
>It seems a rather sad judgment to think that 
>OTHER PEOPLE do not have the knowledge or skills to deal with the innate 
>inaccuracies of any image or text description. Of course there are 
>exceptions ...

Unfortunately, there are LOTS of exceptions.  Every bloom season the 
various online iris forums and mailing lists are overrun with requests 
for iris IDs from digital images, and every bloom season there are 
numerous well-meaning individuals eager to provide ID suggestions in 
response to these requests.  A lot of suggestion providers intend to 
offer *only* possibilities for IDs, but many of the gardeners requesting 
ID assistance seem to be completely ignorant of the many variables and 
difficulties associated with making IDs from images and will eagerly 
grasp the first name offered to attach to their own plant.  I see it 
happen all the time, particularly with folks who grow only a few 
hand-me-down irises from their grandparents'/friends'/neighbors' gardens.

Will this problem increase with public access to illustrated check lists? 
 Probably.  Anytime you make it easier for large numbers of people to 
access information, you will have more people using that information 
improperly.  Is that reason enough to quell the production of illustrated 
check lists?  Absolutely not!

This discussion seems to be centered around the issue of iris 
identification relative to digital or printed images.  I would like to 
present another, and perhaps even more important, purpose for 
illustrating check lists - promotion.  Although I can't seem to locate a 
copy of the AIS charter at present, I assume that among the 
organization's primary goals is promotion of irises as garden plants.  
Anyone who's ever tried to sell anything knows that pictures sell.  I can 
not think of anything AIS or its affiliates could possibly do that would 
more effectively promote the sale and growth of irises around the world 
than publishing and marketing illustrated check lists, whether in print 
or online or both.  Iris shows are great, as far as they go, but they 
exhibit to the public only a tiny handful of the available iris options.  
Illustrated check lists have the potential to show the public the entire 
world of irises, and the public wouldn't have to travel the entire world 
to see them.

Now let me hop back to the issue of iris identification via images.  I 
have discussed this particular personal peeve before, but this seems a 
good opportunity to address it again.  I have visited websites of small, 
commercial iris nurseries that advertise and sell clearly incorrectly 
identified iris cultivars (registered purple irises advertised and 
pictured as yellow, for example).  If illustrated check lists were made 
available to the public, it might inspire some of these lazier sellers to 
take the time to confirm the identities of their stock prior to 
advertising them in their online and/or print catalogs.  I can't imagine 
any seller would relish the possibility of a customer showing them an 
official AIS check list saying, "No, THIS is the color SPARKY is supposed 
to be!"

Of course, there's always the risk that the same customer may approach a 
seller with a check list photo that is only a little "off", requiring an 
explanation of the effects of cultural and photographic variables on 
flower and image color expression.  Ugh.

Yes, photos present lots of potential problems, but I don't think the 
whole lot of them combined come close to equaling the potential 
promotional benefit of illustrated check lists.  I have never felt the 
need to purchase section check lists, since I own a complete set of AIS 
CLs and R&Is.  As soon as illustrated section CLs become available, 
though, I will be at the front of the line for mine!

Laurie


-----------------
laurief@paulbunyan.net
http://www.geocities.com/lfandjg/
http://www.angelfire.com/mn3/shadowood/irisintro.html
USDA zone 3b, AHS zone 4 - northern Minnesota
normal annual precipitation 26-27"
slightly acid, potassium deficient, clay soil

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