I. Uniflora

Donald Mosser
The following messages were posted last Feb. concerning I. Uniflora:
>>Date:  Wed, Feb 7, 1996 1:02 AM EDT
X-From: DWFQ97A@prodigy.com (MR ROBERT R PRIES)

To Ian Black;

Welcome to the Iris list;  Iim a list newbee also.  I was delighted  to hear
you are also interested in Iris in the rock garden.  That is a strong
interest of mine also.  I have had a rather large collection of Dwarf bearded
iris which a couple of years ago suffered a number of setbacks and I am now
trying to redo.  I have had a deep interest in all dwarf species from arils
to junos to beardless.
 I am curious as to whether you have the real species Iris attica.  I am not
sure it would be hardy in my zone 6 even if I could locate it.  I have gotten
seed many times of Iris species such attica from the AGS  and NARGS seed
exchanges.  Sadly they always turn out to be Iris sanguinea.  A Polish
botanical garden offered seed of ruthenica which again turned out to be Iris
sanguinea.  My friend Jim Waddick recieved seed marked Iris uniflora from
China and it too turned out to be Iris sanguinea.  Jim tells me he has
written to several plantsman whom he sent the seed and have been listing it
in their catalogs as uniflora but they continue listing it even though as for
as we know their is no uniflora in the USA. I am still looking for a number
of species but I am beginning to lack confidence in seed.
 Every species has variations within it of color form etc.  I am very
interested in acquiring different variations and I am willing to trade.  I
have been compiling a checklist of species variations that has taken most of
my free time the last four years.  I am still interested in discovering what
variations I have missed.  I would love to hear more about the plants you
grow...............Bob Pries, 
St. Louis MO, USA.

Subj:  Naming of Iris species
Date:  Wed, Feb 7, 1996 6:59 PM EDT
X-From: ianblack@easynet.co.uk (Ian Black)
I wouldn't say that Irises from trade sources are that bad, but
a lot of misnamed seed - I'm talking about species & varieties - does seem
to reach the exchanges.  I keep an open mind on seed from such sources until
I see the flowers.

Concerning the species you asked about, I am pretty confident in the naming
of I. ruthenica nana, as it was grown from a seed collection made in China
by Roy Lancaster.  (Also, I. cycloglossa was grown from seed taken from
hand-pollinated plants grown from the original Wendelbo, Hedge & Ekberg
collection).  However, I don't know about I. attica.  I got it from a
nurseryman who seemed to know what he was talking about.  Certainly, it
isn't I. sanguinea, or any of the other sibirica types - the leaves are very
different.  I look forward to seeing the flowers !

I don't honestly know anything about I. uniflora, other than that some
authorities regard it as synonymous with I. ruthenica.  I notice that RBG
Edinburgh has four separate accessions of this plant, including one of the
dwarf v. caricina.  At least one nursery here in the UK offers this variety,
but my experience, as I said, is zero.  I'm always happy to exchange seed if
I have any, but don't hold your breath for these new acquisitions - it may
be a long wait!

Ian

With the hopeful opportunity of being proven wrong, i don't believe 
there is any iris uniflora in the USA.  I have seen the plants marked 
iris uniflora at sevral South Carolina gardens and they are all 
sanguinea.  This resulted from seed widely distributed from 
collections in China which were incorrectly labeled.  No one seems to 
want to admit they have the wrong plant.  Another such iris in the 
USA is Iris songarica,  all of which are a bicolor Iris lactea, very 
nice but not songarica.  I know the seed supposedly came from 
Rodionenko but things do get messed up.   Another example.  I was 
recently show plants collected 100 miles from civilizations of the 
Kamchatka peninsula.  the two `wild' iris turned out to be Dorothy K 
Williamson and Rose Queen.  What a cajun iris was doing in the wild 
that for north is a mystery but it still wasn't anything but dear DKW.
     Bob Pries<<<

Kathryn Mohr, near Albany, NY, Zone 5
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