Re: HIST: Amoena, amoena (Was iris info)
- To: Multiple recipients of list <i*@rt66.com>
- Subject: Re: HIST: Amoena, amoena (Was iris info)
- From: "* a* C* W* <c*@digitalpla.net>
- Date: Wed, 31 Dec 1997 18:37:14 -0700 (MST)
> J. Michael, Celia or Ben Storey wrote:
> >
> > Hi y'all!
> > This discussion of the breakthrough amoena WABASH left me wondering
about
> > the term amoena, and how strictly it should be applied. If we were
talking
> > about another bicolor with creamy white standards rather than WABASH's
> > snowy white S, could that plant also be called an "amoena"? Does a
faint
> > blue tint make a plant ineligible?
> > How white does the white have to be?
> >
> > I know the amoena hybridizer Jesse
> > Wills complained about the low germination rate and slow development of
> > amoena seedlings (TWOI p. 109). Any connection to my WABASH's slow
starts?
and Barb Johnson added:
> TOLL GATE (Paul Cook '59) has very pale blue standards and purple falls,
> and is called an amoena in the checklist. It's one I got locally this
> summer.
The *original* amoena pattern is a recessive trait also associated with the
fertility problems mentioned above. The standards of these recessive
amoenas tend to be quite a clean white.
Paul Cook introduced the *dominant amoena* characteristic into TB breeding
by introgression of a gene from the wild dwarf bearded iris, I.
reichenbachii, through his seedling later registered as PROGENITOR in the
late 1940's. TOLL GATE is one of the early introductions from this line of
breeding. Most modern amoenas, neglectas, and bicolors are PROGENITOR
descendants, but the standards of *Progenitor amoenas* are generally
faintly pigmented rather than pure white.
Jeff Walters in northern Utah (USDA Zone 4, Sunset Zone 2)
cwalters@digitalpla.net
Best Wishes to All for a Happy, Healthy. Iris-filled New Year!!
