COMP: Using the online AIS registration databases

Hello All,

I just posted the following on the Iris Forum for the newbies there who 
are unfamiliar with the online AIS registration databases, and it 
occurred to me that this list may also have a number of newbie lurkers 
who might find the same information useful.  If you are familiar with the 
databases, their function, and the use of the invaluable wildcard symbol 
(*), read no further.  This will all be repetition for you. ...

The American Iris Society is the official international registry for all 
non-bulbous iris cultivars. They are responsible for processing and 
maintaining registration data on all bearded, beardless, and crested iris 
cultivars. The AIS publishes and sells annual Registrations and 
Introductions booklets of all irises registered each year, and every ten 
years compiles the preceding decade's R & Is into a single volume Check 
List.  There are currently Check Lists for 1939, 1949, 1959, 1969, 1979, 
1989, and 1999, as well as R & Is for 2000 , 2001, and 2002. The R & Is 
and Check Lists contain no photos but do contain full descriptions of 
every iris as provided by the hybridizer at the time of registration.  
These publications are available for purchase through the AIS Storefront 
(http://www.irises.org/storefront.htm).    

The AIS has also begun the process of placing their registration data 
into searchable online databases (http://www.irisregister.com/).  The 
online AIS databases are a work in progress. They contain two databases: 
Checklist Data and Name Data. The Checklist Data DB currently contains 
only the registration data from the 1969, 1979, and 1989 printed Check 
Lists, though all other Check Lists and current decade R & Is will be 
added in time. That means that only info on irises registered between 
1960-1989 can be accessed through the Checklist Data DB at this time. The 
Name Data DB, however, contains abbreviated info on ALL cultivars 
registered with AIS through 2000 (this, too, will be brought current at 
some point). It does not provide the full descriptions included in the 
Checklist Data DB, but it will tell you if any iris by a particular name 
has been registered through 2000.  Access to these databases is currently 
free, though you do need to acquire the necessary username and password 
as explained through the link provided above.  

There are some tricks to locating an iris in the online databases, 
particularly when you are unsure of the spelling of the cultivar name.  
The wildcard symbol (*) can be invaluable in such searches, as can a 
reasonable imagination for potential spellings.  Take the example of the 
iris ALLAGLOW.  If you are unfamiliar with the spelling with which it is 
registered, you might be inclined to search ALL AGLOW, ALL A GLOW, 
ALL-AGLOW,  ALL-A-GLOW, or perhaps any of those without the letter W - 
none of which will return the desired entry in the databases.  In order 
to facilitate the search, try first searching on the single word GLOW.  
That will return all entries that contain the word GLOW, but it still may 
not return ALLAGLOW because the word GLOW does not stand alone in that 
name.  Try the same single word search on GLO and get the same results.  
So your search still hasn't given you what you want, but it has given you 
the next logical step.  You now know that neither GLOW nor GLO appears as 
a stand-alone word in the name of ALLAGLOW.  You can also be reasonably 
certain that either GLOW or GLO ends the desired name, unless the 
hybridizer got ridiculously creative with the spelling of the word 
"glow".   

This is where the wildcard comes in handy.  The wildcard indicates that 
"something" needs to appear in its place in the search.  Now search 
*GLOW.  Bingo!  ALLAGLOW pops up in the search results!  The wildcard 
symbol can be used anywhere in the search term, and more than one 
wildcard can be used in the same search term.  You can find ALLAGLOW with 
searches on ALL*,  *AGLO*, etc.

The wildcard is also handy locating names that include punctuation like 
apostrophes or hyphens.  The search engine sometimes gets confused by 
such punctuation in cultivar names and returns erroneous results.  When 
searching for names like TITAN'S GLORY where you may not be certain if it 
was registered containing an apostrophe, use the wildcard to replace the 
possible punctuation by searching for TITAN*.

Have fun!

Laurie


-----------------
laurief@paulbunyan.net
http://www.geocities.com/lfandjg/
http://www.angelfire.com/mn3/shadowood/irisintro.html
USDA zone 3b, AHS zone 4 - northern MN
acidic clay soil

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