Photo Essay: Historic varieties from 1934

by Mike Unser

A selection of varieties I have grown that were introduced in 1934. New gene combinations from the previous decade were giving a wide range of novel forms, colors and patterns. The economic depression of the 1930's era was hard on the people of so many countries. Perhaps the need for hope and beauty fueled the innovation and creativity of these golden years for irises.

What are you growing from 1934?

Photo Essay: Historic varieties from 1959

By Mike Unser

A collection of historic iris varieties from 1959 that I have grown and loved.

News from Amasya

By Sylvain Ruaud

Between the cities of Batumi - in Georgia - in the east, and Sinope in the west, along the Black Sea, stands a coastal strip where the Cappadocia plateau slopes towards the sea. This is now Turkey, but in antiquity, it was a region colonized by the Greeks who founded there several prosperous cities, either by the sea, like the current Trabzon (Trebizonde, in the old days), Sinop ( Sinope for the Greeks), or, above all, Samsun (Amisos), either higher in the foothills of Cappadocia, and Amasya (Amaseia in ancient Greek). Amasya is located in the deep valley of the Yesilirmak river, which wiggles in the region before joining the Black Sea. In antiquity this river was called Iris! Here is a name well predestined for a river which crosses the region where our current tetraploid irises originate.

'Mrs. George Darwin'

'Mrs. Horace Darwin'

Although the city of Amasya was destined to find a prominent place in the small world of irises, it was not until the end of the 19th century and the work of Sir Michael Foster, physiologist and professor at Cambridge, and famous collector of irises that the area became important. He had started iris growing by taking an interest in the oncoclyclus irises, then also in the iris spurias with which he launched into interspecific hybridizations. He also undertook the hybridization of what was then called the Germanica irises and obtained two varieties which remained famous: 'Mrs. George Darwin 'and' Mrs. Horace Darwin 'whom he named as a token of friendship with two of his neighbors. About these varieties we read this in The World of Irises: “They were whites and the first had a touch of gold in the throat that made it stand out from any other. It also had the virtue of being very late and was at its best when most of the other varieties had finished blooming. But fine as these varieties were, Foster agreed with those who said that further improvement of the bearded irises was impossible, or at least improbable, unless new species with new characteristics could be found to use as parents”.

'Lord of June'

But where to find these new species? Foster had heard of iris with huge flowers (for the time) that were found in Asia Minor. He therefore got in touch with missionaries who then went to these regions not only for religious reasons, but also scientific purposes. It was frequently that people of church took advantage of their mission to locate plants, and many of the plants which are today frequent in our gardens come from specimens brought back by missionaries. Michael Foster's emissaries sent him irises, good, mediocre, and uninteresting; but among the good ones there were some who revolutionized the world of bearded irises. Especially a species discovered in the north of Anatolia, in the region of Amasya and baptized for this reason 'Amas'. In fact there were in Great Britain several arrivals of these exceptional irises but none has been precisely described and distributed so that it is not known exactly which is at the origin of what. The varieties that we attribute to the iris 'Amas' may come from another plant, which by the way was perhaps of the same species! The fact remains that the fame of these Anatolian irises returned to 'Amas' and, as a result, to the city of Amasya.

'Amas'

Foster made many seedlings from his 'cluster', but it was not until his death in 1907 that these were brought to the market, among with other hybrids of the same origin obtained by Foster's friend George Yeld. These new plants include 'Caterina', 'Crusader' or 'Kashmir White', from the production of Foster and 'Halo' or 'Neptune' from that of Yeld. All these novelties were not masterpieces and they turned out to be fragile, often affected by rot and not very rustic. In addition, almost all of these varieties were blue-lavender or purple. They were nevertheless successful because of their exceptional dimensions and the hopes placed in them for a renewal of bearded irises.

'Kashmir White'

It took persistence and patience to believe in this revival because it did not appear overnight! The hybridizers tore their hair out when they noticed that the crosses made between these Amasya irises and European irises did not give much: almost no seeds or plants, large, certainly, but sterile and without other qualities remarkable. It was only in the long run, after many unsuccessful attempts, that they obtained hybrids that were both fertile and beautiful. No one knew why. A botanist by the name of Strassburger had observed in 1882 the presence of chromosomes in plants, but this discovery had not aroused any interest. It was only around forty years later that the first chromosome counts revealed the reason why the Anatolian irises, and their rare fertile hybrids, were larger and more beautiful: they had four pairs of chromosomes at the place of the two pairs which characterized the ancient irises.

To fully explain this phenomenon, I have found nothing more perfect than a text written by Ben Hager, the well-known hybridizer, published in the first part of a book of artistic photographs of iris, "L'Iris” from Dutchman Josh Westrich. Here is this explanation:

“All living organisms, plants and animals, are made up of cells. All cells have a common basic structure and each has a nucleus. In only one of its infinitesimal entities are numerous chromosomes grouped together, the number of which varies according to organisms. Chromosomes carry a genetic map that controls the development and characters of the new organism after fertilization. The egg cell produces new cells that are identical in every way and intended to form a completely rejuvenated structure. At the moment when the reproductive cells or gametes are formed in the flower, the number of chromosomes is divided into two equal batches but with, often, a mixing of the characters carried by the chromosomes. Male and female cells from the same parent (self-fertilization) or from different parents, will give egg cells with a different genetic heritage and will produce different plants. (...) "

“Nature prefers simplicity. Individuals resulting from the fusion of two reduced batches of chromosomes are called diploids. But accidents happen: if, during the formation of gametes, the cells do not correctly reduce the number of chromosomes, the egg contains four sets of chromosomes instead of two. Such cells are called tetraploids; because of the accident to which they are due, they have everything in duplicate. "

Why did the first crosses between the irises of Amasya and the “old ones”, originating from our countries, give only disappointing plants? It was that we had mixed tetraploid plants, the "new", with diploid plants, the "old". Hence the production of triploid plants (one batch of chromosomes from the diploid parent and two batches of chromosomes from the tetraploid parent), which are almost always sterile. And if later crosses proved to be superb and fertile, it was because they were, always accidentally, tetraploid, due to an unreduced gamete in a diploid parent. But no one was aware of this in the 1890s at the time of the attempts of Foster and his followers.

Fortunately, the accident described above has occurred often enough for the tetraploidy of the Amasya iris to settle down in a stable fashion and for the varieties obtained from the 1920s to be all tetraploid and to combine the qualities of the iris from Anatolia and those of European hybrids, giving birth to the irises that we know today.

This is why we owe so much to the plants harvested by the missionaries evangelizing the confines of the Ottoman Empire. This is why the region of Amasya and the banks of the Iris river (what a coincidence!) Can be considered as a cradle of modern iridophilia.

WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN 'HISTORIC', 'HERITAGE', AND 'LEGACY' IRISES?

by DAWN MUMFORD

Collage of historic irises from our garden 

I belong to several groups on Facebook visited by people who like to grow irises.  I have learned a lot from those groups and enjoy the lovely photographs that members post of their irises.  Questions are asked and there is usually someone out there with the correct answer.   One question that was posed and never fully answered to my satisfaction is our topic today:  

 What is the difference between 'Historic’ ‘Heritage’ and ‘Legacy’ Irises? 

The American Iris Society uses the term "Historic" to describe those irises that were introduced 30 or more years ago. Each year there are a whole lot more that fit into that category. Of the 3 terms listed in the question, The American Iris Society has only accepted and defined the term “Historic”. They have not adopted nor defined the term “Heritage"  or "Legacy" Iris. So the terms "Heritage" and "Legacy" are terms used by other iris collectors. In other words if you ask 25 gardeners what "Heritage" and "Legacy" irises are, you might get 25 different answers. I asked a few iris lovers and officials to distinguish between "Historic," "Heritage," and "Legacy" and here is what they said.  

     

Anne Milner lives in the UK. She has a wonderful web site at http://www.blissiris.co.uk/ This is what she had to say:

” I’m afraid I have never heard of ‘Legacy’ irises... though I know that officially ‘Historic’ irises are those over 30 years old – too short a time in my opinion. I’m also not clear about ‘Heritage’ irises. I grow 'Arthur Bliss’ irises which are now nearly 100 years old – definitely ‘Historic’. Very few are available commercially, though I would supply what I can to people in Europe. As you may be aware, cross-Atlantic trade is extremely difficult. "

It appears that the terms "Heritage" and "Legacy" are not in wide use in the UK, from what I have been able to gather.

'Bruno' (Bliss, 1922)

Flowers are large and well proportioned.  

 'Majestic'  (Bliss, 1923)

Enormous flowers.  Very fine form and extra substance.  

My next response came from Laetitia Munro, a committee chairman for HIPS.  HIPS stands for the Historic Iris Preservation Society, so Laetitia is an authority on correct terminology on old irises.  She reports that

"As for the terms you describe,only one term you mention, 'historic', is the one that is officially defined and accepted by HIPS, which would deal with THE official descriptions of older iris. The terms 'legacy' and 'heritage' do not have specific official meanings as far as the Historical Iris Preservation Society goes, although for sure they are meant to describe older iris.
As people have grown increasingly dissatisfied with the use of the term 'historic' for EVERY iris that is over 30 years old the terms traditional and heritage have been bandied about as ways to describe iris that look different from the very old iris, and move the dates of Historic Iris back to pre 50's, or even earlier. However this is just talk at the moment, and because a majority of the Board cannot agree, no decisions have been made. Right now, faced with more pressing issues, there is nothing that the Board of Directors is considering at the moment, and there is no sub-committee to make change recommendations. We will continue to use the term 'historic' to describe iris 30+ years old.  If you read anything on the HIPS website you will see that these other two terms are not used in an official capacity in any formal documents.

If I were to give you my unofficial interpretation,  'traditional' iris might be considered one that is of the newest wave of 'historics', such as American Beauty, Apple Blossom Pink, Twice Blessed.  Heritage iris might be of the next older group such as iris from the 50's, 40's such as Chivalry, Black and Gold, Cahokia and the like."

'American Beauty'  (Shoop, 1985)
photo courtesy of Bluejiris

'Chivalry'  (Wills, 1943) 
Photo courtesy of Bluebird Haven Iris 

"My main 'beef' about the 'historic' designation is that an historic iris from 1980 looks very much like a modern iris from the years post 2000, while those that are older than 1950 do have distinctive form indicative of the earlier times."

The next opinion is from Robert Karr from Newport Naturals Iris, who gives a little history on the issue:

"HIPS tried a few years ago to redefine what 'Historic' meant.  After a lot of discussion, we decided to just leave the definition the same:  any iris introduced into commerce thirty years ago.  We did not try to come up with new classifications such as 'Heritage' or 'Legacy'. Linda and I do not care for such terms, but prefer “Historic”.  It is my impression that the majority of the members of HIPS who took part in the discussion prefer to keep the term “Historic”, and not attempt to use any other terms. What is the difference between “Heritage”, “Historic", and “Legacy” is a subject that would conjure up hundreds of opinions.  I am not sure that it is a viable subject for discussion anymore."

Mike Unser is well respected for his knowledge of historics.  He was the webmaster for HIPS for a number of years, an accomplished photographer, and a writer for this blog. He chimed in with

"Here's my two cents on these terms and how they apply to old irises.
'Historic' is an official designation by the AIS that includes any iris over 30 years old. It is the basis for the Historic Iris Preservation Society, which was founded with the intention of stopping the loss of important old irises and keeping them going for future generations to enjoy.
'Heritage' is defined as 'something that comes or belongs to one by reason of birth; an inherited lot or portion.' I have only seen this used in the iris context by groups or individuals as pertains to varieties of national importance. Such as Terry Johnson's blog Heritage Irises which usually focuses on the work of New Zealand breeders, such as Jean Stevens. He writes of others but I think the NZs are the focus.

'Legacy' has, as one definition, 'anything handed down from the past, as from an ancestor or predecessor.' I would only apply this term to collection of irises that fit a theme, like Anne Bliss' collection of the Arthur Bliss varieties, or the Sarah Cook collection of the Morris varieties. Or an individuals collection of varieties their grandmother grew."  

Mike provided me with 3 beautiful photographs of 'Historics' that he feels should be more widely known and grown.

'Nomohr' (Gibson, 1955) 

(Snow Flurry X Elmohr), HM 1956.
Photo courtesy of Mike Unser.  'Flashing Gem' is on the left and Mike believes that 'Native Chief' is on the right. 

'Mary Barnett' (Cumbler, 1926)
Photo courtesy of Mike Unser

'Maroon Damask'  (Kleinsorge,1945) 
Photo courtesy of Mike Unser
The yellow behind 'Maroon Damask' is 'Goldbeater' the bright pink one is a noid that is going around as 'Ranger.'

I asked Mike where he got all his Historic irises and he said that early on he did a lot of ordering from Superstition, Argyle Acres, a little from Winterberry, and from well-known irisarian Wanda Rezac.  The vast majority came from other collectors and are pretty rare. 'Maroon Damask' came from Winterberry. The other two may become available from The Pickle Barrel House sale or the HIPS sale where he passed them on for propagation and distribution. 

Conclusion
'Historic' is the correct term with an accepted definition. Although many of us may use the terms 'Heritage' and 'Legacy' to mean older irises, there is no official meaning for the terms.

What do you think?  Do we need more descriptive words to denote age or not?  Perhaps just having the year they were introduced is enough?

I would love to hear from you. 

I have loved irises since I was a young mother.  Here I am in a photo from 1974 with my son Zane who is now 41 years old.  I don't know the name of the iris, which was passed down to me from my mother-in-law. I didn't know that I would later feel the names were so important, and today, it drives me crazy that I don't know the name of this iris! Do you have any guesses what it is?  

My heartfelt gratitude to Anne Milner, Laetitia Munro, Robert Karr and Mike Unser.  Thanks so much for your contributions.