Re: Sweet Lena (was: Hi Ruth)

> Jeff Walters wrote:
> > 
> > The previous discussion you refer to occurred before I joined the list.
Was
> > there any suggestion at the time that "Sweet Lena" might actually be
the
> > same as ODORATISSIMA?

and John Jones replied:
> 
> I don't remember any reference to ODORATISSIMA in the previous threads.
> A search of the archives for it yields two seemingly unrelated messages.
> A hiccup in the search engine I guess (clip)

I searched the Archives and found a posting from Clarence Mahan during the
earlier discussion of "Sweet Lena" (which occurred late in August, 1996) in
which he mentioned ODORATISSIMA, but not in such a way as to imply any
identity between the two. Linda Mann did ask Clarence if he thought the two
could be the same, but I cannot find any reply to her query.

This is pure surmise, but perhaps Clarence's reticence is not unconnected
to comments he made in an article he wrote for the Spring, 1997 issue of
ROOTS (the HIPS Journal) in which he observed that there is considerable
uncertainty whether any clone now being grown as ODORATISSIMA is identical
to the one first so named two hundred years ago.

Still, I can't help wondering if it would not be useful for some
knowledgable irisarian who is growing what they believe to be ODORATISSIMA
to obtain some stock of "Sweet Lena" and grow the two side by side for
purposes of comparison.

Jeff Walters in northern Utah  (USDA Zone 4, Sunset Zone 2)
cwalters@digitalpla.net
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