SPEC : Orris Root
- To: i*@onelist.com
- Subject: SPEC : Orris Root
- From: "* O* <s*@hotmail.com>
- Date: Sat, 31 Oct 1998 07:29:12 PST
From: "Sterling Okase" <sterling_o@hotmail.com>
>From: Paul & Yvonne Tyerman <tyerman@dynamite.com.au>
>Could someone give me a description of the true orris root (I.
>florentine...... some say I. germanica "Florentine") that is/was used
in
>perfumes.
Hi Paul,
I grew something called I. florentina a few years back. I don't know if
what I grew as florentina was true to name but I am assuming it was
since I have seen it in many gardens and they all looked the same to me.
What I grew as florentina was a very pale, icy blue with a white beard
that turned yellow further into the throat. Form was typical of species,
narrow petal parts. It had really nice branching held away from the
central stalk and branches were more or less straight in appearance. My
clone bloomed at about 2 ft. 60 cm?
There are sports of florentina in commerce that might be fun for you to
try to locate.The old historic varieties Zua and Elizabeth Huntington
(commonly called Blue Zua) are known as the "Crepe Paper" iris because
of their crumpled appearance. Zua has the same icy blue coloring and
E.H. is a purple bitone.
More recently, Clarence Mahan introduced Elsie Crouch Diltz which is a
sport of I. florentina. I have never grown this but from photographs in
my collection, it appears to have the same plant characteristics and
flower form but is a purple bitone.
Iris Maniac,
Sterling (not Innerst)
Seattle, WA. Zone 8
AIS, KCIS, HIPS and MIS
And Friday Night Chat-o-phile
sterling_o@hotmail.com
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