Re: [SpaceAgeRobin] HYB: Questions/Tidbits

In a message dated 5/28/2005 12:05:21 PM Central Daylight Time, fogfarmer@fogfarmers.org writes:


Iris traits are similar to similar to daylillies but a hundred times more complicated because of all the different species involved

The only trait linked to a pod parent is varigated foliage. My personal feeling is that the pod parent has a greater effect on overall plant size than the pollen parent.


I cannot speak to the issue of plant size being related to maternal inheritance. I would think if this is so, so would be bloom size. Like you, I believe variegated foliage the only proven trait exclusively attributed to maternal inheritance. There is a large body of knowledge supporting broken color bloom expression a maternal transmitted trait. This is not inconsistent when one considers blooms a modified or special purpose plant leaf. Knowledge runs always a little behind for the lazy.

Often we see pod shape offered as a maternally transmitted trait as a generalization. I suspect this is not always true. I am at the moment viewing three pods set with three different pollens on Bandera Waltz. Two are quite similar. The third is different enough it would not be deemed from the same plant. Others offer enough variation to make such a generalization suspect. Broken Dreams or Happenstance (can't remember which at the moment and will have to look again) also exhibits pod variations on occasion here.

I would be interested from a curiosity standpoint in knowing of any iris varieties that may exhibit pod anomalies with different or the same pollen. I can never be sure if I dream such things or if such variation is a function of number of seeds in the pod, even perhaps insect bites.

An interesting mature stalk response was observed here today. It has been dry here for about a month. Seed pods have filled and progressing toward maturity. It rained lightly a couple of days ago, maybe 1/4 inch. It rained again last night, maybe 1/2 inch.

Some mature stalks "dry blasted". I know nothing else to call the phenomena. They did so much the same way a daylily scape "blasts" when it suffers a sudden uptake of water when it is in advanced bud stage or early bloom. The stalks did not exhibit the characteristic swelling of a scape blasted daylily but appeared shattered much the same way at the point of fracture.

I guess the point if there is one, a walk through the irises in dry periods followed by light rains might save others the loss of some previous spring work or perhaps additional NOIDs in their seedling beds.

Course it remains possible a rompin' dog or even bison visited several beds but at this point I don't think so. Neither left tracks. Could also be that buffalo really do have wings.

Smiles,
Bill Burleson
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