By Bryce Williamson
Serendipity, meaning a fortunate
happenstance or pleasant surprise, was coined by Horace Walpole in 1754. The
notion of serendipity is a common occurrence throughout the history of
scientific innovation such as Alexander Fleming's accidental discovery of
penicillin in 1928, the invention of the microwave oven by Percy Spencer in
1945, and the invention of the Post-it note by Spencer Silver in 1968.
In the world of iris
hybridizing, serendipity also plays an important role. In his recent blog,
“Arilbred Irises: A Little History,” Tom Waters wrote about “the iris 'William Mohr'
that was essentially sterile….And
occasionally
'William Mohr'
would reward such persistence by
producing a seed or two. We now understand that these seeds were the result of
unreduced gametes, where an ovule
is produced by bypassing the normal cell division.” From those beginnings, the
Mohr class was born, a class of irises grow that with relative ease and have
flowers with many aril characteristics. Today's Mohr types irises, as seen below, have come a long way in flower form and patterns.
Perry Dyer (Black '17)--Paul Black image
Confederate (Tasco '17-- Mohr type aril-median)
Photo by Rick Tasco
Unreduced gametes have also
shaped other tall bearded irises of today. Snow Flurry is perhaps the most famous
of those creations. Other hybridizers have followed this path.
Snow Flurry (Clara Rees)--photo by Rick Tasco
Writing on his Facebook page in 2016,
noted iris authority Keith Keppel wrote that “in the 1930's, hybridizer Paul
Cook crossed the greenish yellow diploid species Iris imbricata with a diploid
‘pallida pink’ seedling. A resultant seedling was then crossed to a tetraploid
blue, and he obtained a seedling with standards somewhat darker than the falls.”
Then serendipity intervened and “He
accomplished two things: (1) bringing imbricata genes into the tetraploid TB
mix and (2) producing a blue with noticeably darker standards, the start of a
reverse blue amoena. Interesting to note: he had begun the imbricata project
hoping it would aid in the clarification of blue TB pigments; instead, he
started a reverse amoena line."
Iris imbricata photo by Lloyd Baumunk
Mr. Keppel goes on to write, “A good hybridizer makes a cross
for a purpose; a great hybridizer recognizes when something unexpected appears,
goes off on a tangent, and develops something entirely different. Four
generations from the initial imbricata cross, Cook introduced Wide World (1954)
and the reverse amoena rush began.
“As
time went on, depth of color and degree of contrast increased. Breeders began
crossing these reverse amoenas with carotene pigment (oil soluble, warm colors)
carriers and the reverse amoenas evolved into all manner of combinations of
"reverse bicolors". Although many breeders were involved, it was
George Shoop who made the most (and the most innovative) introductions of this
new genre....his beloved 'dark tops.'"
Crowned Heads (Keppel)--photo by Jeanette Graham
Spring Tidings (Shoop) photo by Colleen Modra
Mood Ring (Keppel '17)--photo by Brad Collins
George Sutton Y-5-B image by Mike Sutton
These serendipity events may
have value even today. In recent years, Mr. Keppel has been involved in what
could be seen as an exercise in futility. He has been using “Iris albertii, a
diploid species, (that) seems not to be in the general gene pool of modern tall
beardeds.”
Iris albertii--photo by Keith Keppel
As he writes, “So.....why
not....cross with tetraploids and see what happens? Easier said than done. Of
many crosses made, only one....Smash X albertii....yielded seed: six seeds with
two germinating and one lasting to bloom, 05-4A. If nothing else, the albertii
shoulder patterning came through!
Smash (Craig)--photo by Vicki Craig
Keppel 05-4A--photo by Keith Keppel
Keppel 12-120A--photo by Keith Keppel
A good grower, 05-4A blooms prolifically, but is a
problem in crossing. About every third cross produces a pod. About every third
pod is not a false pregnancy, but would have 1 to 3 seeds. Further problem is,
the seed doesn't germinate.” Then once again serendipity intervened when “one year
three volunteer pods formed that had much larger seed than what I had been
getting from the crosses made. Three pods...six seeds total....one germinated.
That one is 12-120A, taller (about two feet), considerably larger flower than
its parent, making me think the unknown parent must be a tall bearded. And, it
has limited fertility. Will it lead to anything different? Anything worthwhile?
And if so, will I still be around to see it?
“The pleasures of iris
hybridizing do not fall within the realm of instant gratification!”
Editor's Note: The image of Iris imbricata is designed to show what the species looks like, but it is doubtful that the clone shown is actually the iris used by Paul Cook in his hybridizing.
