BC Iris & Our "Wierd Ones"

Ellen Gallagher quoted Brad Kasperek:

:	"not all iris with variegated flower colors are broken color". 

and added:

:	I, for
:	one, don't understand it or is it something that can't be seen....
 
Ellen, you're not alone.  This is a complex trait and those of us who are
working with variegated flower colors (and I'm deliberately using the generic
term) are still trying to puzzle out the genetics.

In my garden, these are known quite unscientifically as "the wierd ones".  SOME
may be what Brad has described as BC.   I haven't been able to trace these
various types to a common source, and haven't been able to determine whether any
are genetically linked.  So let's skip the genetics for now and just talk about
what can actually be seen....

1.	White or ivory "splatter paint" on dark ground.   From normal viewing
distance, one of these flowers looks like a red-violet, violet, or blue-violet
self that has been spattered with lighter paint.   If you look at it with a
magnifying glass, though, you can see that the light spots are just small areas
where the "normal" pigment didn't develop. Sometimes the spots are accompanied
by small streaks, but I think the mechanism is the same and the size, shape and
amount of light markings are probably a dosage effect.  Garden visitors who are
more familiar with Ensminger's iris than I am agree that these seedlings have a
similar pattern to some of his, but that's a long way from proof of a link.
GRANNY'S GRANITE POT is my only introduction of this type. 

2.	White & yellow "marbling".  These are mixtures that are too distinct to
be called a blend, too irregular to be called stripes.  The lighter color may be
white or ivory.  The darker one may be various shades of yellow or gold.  I
haven't introduced any of these.  Most have gone straight to arroyo-control duty
because they don't have enough aril characteristics.  

3.	Dark "flecking" on lighter ground.  This was a common trait among the
original C.G. White halfbreds.  Dr. Peter Werckmeister attributed it to the
overall presence of a colorless precursor and something as yet undetermined,
which allows the anthocyanin to develop in apparently random, small areas.  The
flowers of OPPOSITES  ATTRACT range from completely clear (except for its
signal, of course) to heavily marked in this way -- quite a conversation piece
because flowers on the same stalk may have vastly different markings..   

4.	Mixtures.  Patterns # 2 & 3 can turn up in the same flower.  This
happened in BEADWORK, along with an anthocyanin wash over much of the flower,
resulting in an intricate mixture of white, yellow, rust, purple, and brown.

I'm still at the more-questions-than-answers stage.  As far as terminology goes,
I prefer to say "variegated flower" or "variegated foliage" if there is any
question as to which type I'm talking about.

Sharon McAllister (73372.1745@compuserve.com)
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