AIS-Registration of Cultivars:Why, and Why Care?

In a message dated 98-03-23 12:24:03 EST, you write:

<<  Is the only acknowledged registry for irises the AIS?...If I happened to
be from any other part of the world, would it be necessary to register my cvs
with a US organization to have them accepted?  >>

My understanding is 'yes'. The American Iris Society is the recognized
INTERNATIONAL registering agency for the genus Iris.There are other
international registrars for other plants. I believe the RHS handles the genus
Lilium, for instance.

The process of registration of an iris, or any other plant, is a critically
important activity which ensures that names and plant descriptions are
recorded in consistent forms. The overall purpose is to ensure that the plant
and its name is described, documented, and published according to the
scientific criteria of the International Code of Botanical Nomenclature--for
species--or the International Code of Nomenclature for Cultivated Plants-- for
man-made hybrids or plants used in horticulture, forestry, agriculture and so
forth. Thus the process of registration, while is benefits the gardener, is
actually a scientific activity, the scientific activity of recording the
existance and the name of a new plant, or a newly discovered plant, and
scrupulous rules exist to keep order in nomenclature where otherwise there
might be utter chaos and no possibility of communication among scientists, or
other interested parties.

We as gardeners see only one aspect of the registration process, but it
behooves us to recall at all times that the responsibility that AIS bears in
this role of international registrar is critically important. When we see
someone offering to sell us unregistered plants we should realize that these
people do not support the international system that effects precise
communication and accurate scientific descriptions.This says a lot.

Now, very occasionally you will find a reputable nursery selling, as a
curiosity, an unregistered plant from a dead famous hybridizer. These
instances are the exception and should cause no alarm because the situation is
clearly stated. But when someone persists in selling something for which there
is no recorded official description which stands as a measure of the plant,
well, you have to ask yourself if they just don't care, or whether they are
trying to create a legal ambiguity which they may then proceed to exploit as
necessary.

Having a registered name will not ensure that the plant will survive. Not
having a registered name will not guarantee it will die. But only when you
have a name recognized and registered by AIS, do you have an iris with any
name at all. 

Anner Whitehead, Richmond,VA
Henry Hall  henryanner@aol.com
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