Re: Kochii and irises blooming here

In a message dated 97-03-10 22:02:53 EST, you write:

<< Mike Lowe, Clarence, others, please elaborate on kochii.  Is this a
species
 name?
 
 On the subject of older irises in bloom, I have noticed over the last month
 that numerous stalks of a white bearded iris with yellow beards are
 blooming throughout my local area.  Any ideas as to what this is officially
 called? I. albicans?
 
 Also I have noticed a red-violet bearded iris with what must be white or
 yellow beards (only seen from the car while driving).  Any ideas on what
 this one really is?  Some people might call this one a purple, but I would
 describe it as a hot purple with a definite reddish influence.
 
 These two seem different in form, as well, with the white one having more
 opened standards and narrower falls than the purple.  Both, however, seem
 to be blooming long before any modern beardeds in my area.
 
 -Donald (eagerly awaiting stalks of JEWEL BABY and noticed that RARE
 EDITION has a fluffy-puffy leaf that might be a bud in the making!)
 
  >

In reply to this message from Donald Mosser, if you have a copy of Dykes's
The Genus Iris, Plate XXXVI is an accurate rendition of KOCHII.  It is now
considered by taxonomists to be a form of I. germanica.  There are a number
of forms of I. germanica, which of course we now now isn't really a true
species at all but a natural hybrid, nearly sterile.  These forms (but not
the tetraploids usually listed under I. germanica) would be intermediate
irises by the AIS classification scheme.  The purple iris you see blooming is
most likely some form of I. germanica.  It could be KOCHII, CRIMSON KING, or
just some other common form of this historic iris.  (Of course, it could be
something else as well, and without actually seeing it, it is impossible for
me to determine this.)

Iris albicans and Iris florentina have been much confused for centuries.
 When you see them growing together you can easily distinguish between the
two.  I. florentina is bluish white, while albicans does not have a bluish
cast.  On page 165 of The Genus Iris, Dykes lists 5 differences by which one
can distinguish between the two irises.  Also, Iris albicans is accurately
rendered on Plate XXXV in that book.  The white iris in Van Gogh's famous
painting of purple irises is I. albicans, which is grown extensively in the
south of France (and is often mistakenly called I. florentina even today.)
 From my observations, it is more likely you will see Iris albicans growing
in old gardens in the South than Iris florentina.  Clarence Mahan in VA
Other Mailing lists | Author Index | Date Index | Subject Index | Thread Index