Re: HIST:Swerti vs. Swertii, Or SWEERTII

Since Emanuel Sweert was a Dutchman, his name would be pronounced "sveert".
The double "e" in Dutch is usually pronounced as in the English "ay", but
before "r" it is pronounced like the English "ee".  Even the Dutch, however,
when pronouncing the "ee" before an "r", give it more of an "i" sound, as in
the English "hit", so don't feel bad if it comes out that way when you say
it.  The important thing, of course, is to pronounce the "w" as "v".   The
Dutch "w" is somewhere between the English "v" and "w", but my tongue has
never been able to find that exact spot.   --  Griff

P.S.  There is a great description of Dutch in The A to Z Guide of Belgium.
I hope iris-talk doesn't strip it:  "A strange language spoken in Flanders
and consisting largely of the consonants v,s,c,h,r and k. Dutch is
surprisingly easy to learn. Simply fill your mouth with crisps and then
speak English and German simultaneously without breathing."


----- Original Message -----
From: <ChatOWhitehall@aol.com>
To: <iris@hort.net>
Sent: Tuesday, March 01, 2005 11:41 AM
Subject: Re: [iris] HIST:Swerti vs. Swertii, Or SWEERTII


> In a message dated 3/1/05 9:44:00 AM Eastern Standard Time,
neilm@charter.net
> writes:
>
> <<  On p. 524 of the *Alphabetical Iris Check List...1939* is the entry
for
>  SWERTI, with the notation "(Coll. -Figured in 1612") followed by an entry
>  "Swert's Florilegium 1612" then a number of subsequent references.
>
>  Since we've been discussing "Swertii" I thought I might post a note that
we
>  haven't been using the right form of the name (Thanks, Rick and Roger!).
>
>  Unpacking the cryptic data, I assume the entries beginning with "Swert's"
> have
>  to do with where and when the clone is published, with the earliest
notation
>  in the "Florilegium" --a book of flowers, judging by the name, with the
>  "Swert" accounting for the origin of the variety's name.  "Figured"
suggests
>  an illustration.>>
> -----------------------
>
> This was a recurring idee fixe in HIPS for some time circa 1990 when
several
> people, notably Dave Silverberg, pooled their mental resources and sorted
out
> an unknown circulating as Mme. Sherti. The name correction that was
suggested
> was 'actually 'Sweertii.'
>
> In the course of the sorting, in which Dave, relying heavily on Cornell
> Memoir 100 by Austin W.W. Sand (which anyone here can purchase in reprint
from
> Dorothy Stiefel at one of those modest prices for which HIPS is justly
famous)
> figured out that the unknown in question was likely that known to the 1939
Check
> List as 'Swerti.' This small plicata with pinched falls has several
> distinguishing features, indeed, as Mike Lowe has said from time to time,
you can see a
> real good picture of it masquerading as 'Mme. Chereau' in 'The World of
> Irises'. It is unlikely anyone would mistake the two in the flesh since
they 1)
> don't look alike and 2) 'Swerti' is a lot shorter.
>
> Anyway, in the course of the ongoing discussions, the preponderance of
which
> made it into ROOTS, Dr. Art Tucker, whom I have had occasion to mention
> recently, a distinguished research professor at Delaware State University
and a
> collector of antique plants of several genera, observed that the preferred
form of
> the name under the Code of Nomenclature would be 'Sweertii'. That is with
two
> E's and two I's, this because Sweert, about whom more in a moment,
> "consistently spelled his name with two e's" (Roots, Vol. 3, Issue 2, Fall
1990, p.17.)
>
> The only pronunciation I have ever heard anyone, including Art, use for
this
> Iris is SWUR-tee. In passing I will note that when the Median Iris
Society's
> committee to reclassify older TBs as MTBs condsidered 'Swerti', it did not
so
> reclassify it.
>
> In private conversation with me at a plant symposium at Monticello several
> years ago Art said he was becoming warm to the idea that this was a form
of I.
> aphylla, which should be interesting to the initial poster, and possibly
to
> students of plicatas generally.
>
> Now, with regard to the 1939 Alphabetical Iris Check List entry for this
> plant: We are informed that it is a midseason blooming white ground
plicata
> feathered in pink to red tones, which probably means the markings are
violet toned
> rather than a clear blue, which would be the only other option offerred by
the
> simple color chart, or it conceivably could be a simple typo. There are a
few
> known typos in this book. The 'midseason' in the entry means midway
through
> the whole Iris season, not just through the TB season.
>
> The entry states that this is a collected iris, and was figured--that is
> pictured--in something published in 1612, which is then identified as
Swert's
> Florilegium 1612, thus. Note that Emanuel Sweerts' name is spelled with
one E in
> the fuller entry which means Ethel Peckham had reason to believe that was
the
> preferred form. Collected means brought into cultivation from the wild.
>
> In passing I will mention that I just pulled my Dover facsimile of this
> Florilegium, which is allegedly complete, off the shelf and looked at the
Iris
> plates and I don't see anything that immediately announces itself as
'Swerti,'
> although I do have a cold today and so am probably a little dull and
> unimaginative.
>
> I will also mention that I have in past seen a plate from one of the great
> flower books in which something identified as 'Iris aphylla' was
represented as
> a plicata much resembling 'Swerti,' althought I cannot at this moment
recall
> which book--Pries, are you there? The question of whether 'Swerti' is, or
is
> not, or might be, or once was, a form of *Iris aphylla* may arise from
this
> plate. I don't grow either and have not compared them.
>
> Anyway, the other entries in the Check List recount some of the history of
> the publication of this name--remember the Check Lists are really lists of
> names-- which includes: the catalog of nurseryman William Prince of Long
Island in
> 1823; several European periodicals, all of which can be identified by
looking
> up their abbreviations in the notes at the front of the book; Bertrand
Farr's
> 1912 catalog; Lee Bonnewitz' 1920 catalog--both these are famous Iris
> commercial sources of their day, etc. Then follows a list of synonyms for
this same
> name. Synonyms are deemed illegitimate for one reason or another. Some
appear to
> be botanical errors, some reflect the renaming of the plant to make it
more
> modern or less foreign sounding, and one seems to be a muddle based on a
> pronunciation of 'Swerti' with a V sound for the W.
>
> The 1939 Check List is an amazing document. A reprint is available from
the
> AIS Storefront. Copies of all the back issues of ROOTS are available from
> Dorothy. They make pretty good reading.
>
> Cordially,
>
> Anner Whitehead
> Richmond VA USA
>
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