Re. Mary McClellan, et al.

Walter Moores posed a number of questions about historic arilbreds.  

You may want to scan this quickly, to read only the ones you're interested in.
Or you may want to delete the whole thing right now.  Just be forewarned that
this is a bit longer than usual, but answering all of Walter's questions
together does save space overall.  So here goes....

:  I would like to ask Sharon the same thing in regard to 
:
:		STRIPED BUTTERFLY	   C.G. WHITE  1962

1/8 I. susiana by the old system, disenrolled when the quantum requirement was
adopted.  This type can be classified as either a 1/4-bred or a TB under the
current system, but it would take a chromosome-count verifying its 1/4-bred
status to reinstate it.  To the best of my knowledge, this has not been done for
either potential registrations or any of the historics.

:		TROPHY		           C. G. WHITE  1961
1/4 I. gatesii, a classic Mohr-type from NEW SNOW X  CAPITOLA. 

:		WITCH DOCTOR		   C. G. WHITE  1959
1/4 I. gatesii, another classic Mohr-type from an unidentified TB seedling  X
CAPITOLA. 

Both TROPHY and WITCH DOCTOR still qualify as arilbreds but neither would be
eligible for the C.G. White medal by today's standards.  


:	Are there other C. G. Whites that have been reassessed?
Until 1969, all arilbreds competed for the C.G. White award, regardless of aril
content.   MARY MCCLELLAN and STRIPED BUTTERFLY were the only winners of the
C.G. White award that were completely disenrolled.  MOHRNING HAZE, REAL GOLD,
WIND SHADOWS, GOLDEN JOPPA, SPRING NOCTURNE, and WEE SCOT still qualify as
arilbreds but (like TROPHY & WITCH DOCTOR) would compete for the Wm. Mohr medal
rather than the C.G. White medal if registered & introduced today.  Only IMARET
(C.G. White Award, 1966) met the criteria for the C.G. White award after 1969. 

ALL that had been recorded as arilbreds -- not just the award winners -- were
reassessed after the quantum requirement was adopted, and a great many were
disenrolled before publication of the 1976 ASI Checklist.

:	Also, do you know the aril content for:
:		ROSEMOHR '49
1/8 I. gatesii -- see above explanation re. STRIPED BUTTERFLY

:		SHERIFFA '43
Exact aril heritage unknown. The committee that reassessed arilbreds classified
it as a 1/4-bred, based at least in part on a chromosome-count of 47.

:		TURKISH TOPAZ  '62
It was registered as a regelia hybrid and clearly shows I. stolonifera heritage,
but I don't think anyone knows its true aril content.  Some have even speculated
it might be a regeliabred.  

:		SPECKLED BIRD '58
1/4 I. gatesii, another classic Mohr-type from TIFFANY  X  CAPITOLA.  It was one
of those rarieties originally registered as a TB but recorded as an arilbred.
It, too, still qualifies as an arilbred.

:		ELMOHR	'42
1/4 I. gatesii, another classic Mohr-type from WILLIAM MOHR X a red seedling.
Counted as having 46 chromosomes and proven remarkably fertile for a 1/4-bred.

:		GAY STRIPES '58
The short answer is "no" -- I can't tell you the aril content of this one.  It
was registered as simply an oncobred. In his catalog, Tell Muhlestein identified
the parents as "two one-fourth Onco-blooded Seedlings of C.G. White's".  The '76
Classification committee ruled it one-half onco, but I don't know their
rationale.  (If you're growing this one, I could sure suggest some
experiments....)  

:		LADY MOHR '44
The object of a great deal of published misinformation, I grant the most
credence to contemporary accounts that name CAPITOLA as its pollen parent.  That
would make it 1/4 I. gatesii.

:	Since these have been around for so long, do you
:	recommend them for wetter climates?

I think those that have stayed around this long have demonstrated a tolerance
for a wide range of climates -- and there's a long-held belief that the
1/4-breds & 1/8th-breds from CAPITOLA are less persnickety about drainage than
the C.G. White halfbreds. 

I would certainly recommend any of them as historical curiosities, but they
should be judged in the context of their time rather than by today's standards.
The aril trait most often conveyed by I. gatesii to its descendants -- wide form
-- made them noticeably distinct from TBs of the 40s & early 50s.  But as width
has been bred into the newer TBs, they no longer seem so striking in comparison.

Sharon McAllister
73372.1745@compuserve.com
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