Louisiana (LA) Iris Flower Form

By Ron Killingsworth

One of the most striking things about Louisiana (LA) irises is the diversity of flower form and size.   And although some iris species are divided into different height or size categories, LA irises are not.  They can be as short as 1-2 feet tall all the way up to over 6 feet tall.  Furthermore, LA irises are generally divided into nine different flower forms.  Some fall into more than one category, however.  For example, the flower forms "fully overlapping" and "ruffled" can often be combined to describe some of the more recent and spectacular hybrid LA irises.  So let us take a look at some of the LA iris forms.

This is the "upright standards" form, which is quite descriptive.  In this form the standards (the smaller three petals) stand up while the falls (the larger three petals) fall down.  Perhaps this is where the terms "standards" and "falls" originated.  Here are some pictures of irises that "fall" into this flower form:

'Barbara Elaine Taylor' (Taylor, JC 1954)

'Cassiopee' (Anfosso, L 1988)

'Chuck Begnaud' (Haymond, D 1999)

'Cocka The Walk' (Musacchia, J 2005)

Another form that represents more and more of the recent hybrid LA irises is the "ruffled form".  Most irises in the "ruffled form" also tend to fall into the "overlapping" form.  Here are some examples of the "ruffled form".

'Betty Ann' (Jackson, P 2008)

'Changing Shadows' (Norvell, Pat 2012)

'Mulberry Ripple' (Jackson, P 2008)

'Our Dorothy' (Pryor, B 1997)

'Simply Irresistible' (Pryor, H 1998)

Another LA iris form is "recurved form".  Irises with this form have falls that curve down giving a "rolled back" or recurved look. This form is relatively new and I could find only two good examples:

'Elaine Bourque' (Haymond, D 2007)

'Leather Bound' (Jackson, P 2011)

The "semi-flaring to flat" is described as irises having a slight upward arch to the standards but a slight downward arch to the falls.  Here are some I think fall into this category:

'Ann Weeks' (Weeks, J 2010)

'Exquisite Idea' (Pryor, H 2006)

'Word of Warning' (Pryor, H 2003)

The "umbrella pendant" form is somewhat similar to  the "recurved form" but in the umbrella form the falls and stands fall down very close to the bloom stem.  Again, it was difficult to find good pictures of this form.

'Mississippi Eavesdropper' (Jackson, P 2011)

'Ruth Sloan' (Sloan, Richard 1984)

'Lottie Butterscotch' (Sheppard, S 2007)

The "semi-double form" is often called the "cartwheel form" and represents a bloom that generally has all falls and no standards.  There is a difference between "double form" and "cartwheel form" but the difference goes beyond the scope of this article.  There are very few LA irises like this, and a number of hybridizers are developing irises of this form.

'Delta Star' (Grainger, M 1966)

'Double Encore' (Granger, M by Weeks, J 2010)

'Starlite Starbrite' (Granger, M 1985)

'Flareout' (Granger, M 1988)

The "overlapping form" is by far the most common in modern LA iris hybrids.  In this form the standards are quite large and the standards lie flat against the falls forming a dinner plate effect.

Here are some beautiful examples of the "overlapping form".

'Edna Claunch' (Wolford, Harry 2004)

'Endearing Thought' (Pryor, H 2004

'Nancy Tichborne' (Pryor, B 2010)

'Duck Lady' (O'Connor, Pat 2009)

The "open form" is without a doubt the most common form of the species LA irises and of the early hybridizing attempts.  It represents a form still cherished by LA iris lovers and flowers with this form still win major awards in bench judging. In the "open form" the standards are usually small and the falls tend to be much smaller than in recent hybrids.  This gives a lot of space between the petals and thereby the "open" form.

'Barataria Bay' (Davis, C 1959)

'Royal Sparkle' (Rowlan, H 1985)

'Tarnished Brass' (Chowning, Frank 1961)

'Violet Ray' (Dormon, Caroline 1949)

The Society for Louisiana Irises does not officially recognize the following flower form but I think it should be added, since more and more LA irises are like this: the "overlapping and ruffled" form.  Here are some irises I think would fit into this category.

'Birthday Suit' (O'Connor, Patrick 2010)

'English Turn' (O'Connor, Patrick 2012)

'Lime and Soda' (Jackson, P 2010)

'Nottoway' (O'Connor, Patrick 2005)

The real beauty of LA irises is their diversity of shapes and sizes.  The size of the iris with a bloom stalk can range from a couple of feet to over six feet, and the size of the blooms can range from a couple of inches to over eight inches across!  Surely you can find a bloom you like.  Which form is your favorite, and do you grow it in your own garden?

Neglectas: Iris Color Terminology

By Renee Fraser

Such a sad name.  NEGLECTA.   Neglectas are blue or purple bitone irises in which the falls are darker than the standards.  The Latin means something that may be overlooked or neglected, but that is unlikely to happen with these irises!

"Northwest Progress" Schreiner, 1997

This color class of irises was named after this shy little flower, the original "Neglecta".  You can still buy this darling 1815 historic iris.

  

"Neglecta" Photo by Rick Tasco

On some, the falls are almost an inky black.  

"Dangerous Mood" Schreiner, 2004   Photo by Margie Valenzuela

Median irises with their lovely beards also come in this color combination.  Here is the Intermediate iris 'Hellcat.'

'Hellcat' Aitken 1983  Photo by Sandra Eggertson

And here is 'Against the Tide', a Border Bearded iris.   Griff Crump says "the difficulty in keeping 'Best Bet' alive in some places is pretty well known.  So, late in the 1990s, I was discussing the matter with several iris friends, including a couple of well-known iris hybridizers, both of whom declared that they would never use it in hybridizing, for that reason.  I didn't mention to them that I had already crossed it with one of my seedlings..."  and for that reason, he named it 'Against the Tide'. 

'Against the Tide'  Crump, 2001 Photo by Donald Eaves

Some neglectas are very blue indeed, especially in cooler climes.  This clump will knock your socks off:

'Heartstring Strummer' Johnson 2001 Photo by AdamNAutumn

Lovely new neglectas with ruffles are now available.

"Fabulous One" Nicodemus,  2006  Photo by Kent Pfeiffer

'Global Crossing' Van Liere 2012

'World Premier' is a justly famous iris, and it is very, very blue.

Photo by Susanne Spicker

Some tend toward a navy blue.

'Phantom Ship' Baumunk, 2007 Photo by Elladan McLeester

'Best Bet' is a reblooming iris.  It is not a strong grower in some parts of the country, but it is popular nevertheless.  It is often included in reblooming 'starter' kits from garden centers in big box stores.

'Best Bet'  Schreiner 1988, Photo by Barbara-Jean Jackson

New neglectas are being created by hybridizers all of the time.  

Seedling #072I2 Crump 

Be on the lookout for this beauty, to be introduced next year.

'Sorority Sisters' Van Liere, 2013

Neglectas stand out well in the garden since their blue tones are unusual among flowers.  I have grown "World Premier" and currently grow "Northwest Progress," which has little dark spots on the standards.  Do you grow any neglectas in your garden?

How Do You See It?

By Griff Crump

Over the years, in observing seedlings, I gradually began to suspect that color in irises, and, particularly, the intensity of color, is not due entirely to pigment, but is also affected by the texture of the flower’s petals.  If I were trained in the physical sciences, which I am not, I might have come to such a conclusion sooner.  A recent article in the Smithsonian magazine, entitled “Why Are Some Feathers Blue?” tends to confirm my suspicion:

“For decades, scientists have known how birds with yellow or red feathers usually get their color: It comes from pigments in foods the birds eat. Flamingoes, for instance, extract pink pigments from algae and crustaceans they filter out of the water. The challenge has been to figure out exactly how blue birds get their color. It can’t be their diet: blue pigments, like those in blueberries, are destroyed when birds digest them. . .

Getty Images / Minden Pictures RM 

“Richard Prum, an ornithologist at Yale, discovered that birds make blue feathers in a different way. . .

“Prum discovered that as a blue feather grows, something amazing happens. Inside each cell, stringy keratin molecules separate from water, like oil from vinegar. When the cell dies, the water dries away and is replaced by air, leaving a structure of keratin protein interspersed with air pockets, like a sponge or a box of spaghetti. When white light strikes a blue feather, the keratin pattern causes red and yellow wavelengths to cancel each other out, while blue wavelengths of light reinforce and amplify one another and reflect back to the beholder’s eye. The result: blue, an example of what scientists call a structural color (as opposed to a pigmented color) because it’s generated by light interacting with a feather’s 3-D arrangement. And different shapes and sizes of these air pockets and keratin make different shades of blue.”

Blue, in irises, is produced by the presence of anthocyanin, a pigment, not air pockets.  But the article shows that the interplay of light and structure affects the eye’s perception of color.  It’s been my thinking that the way we perceive certain aspects of the coloration of irises, such as shading and intensity, is also affected by that interplay.

In the case of the seedlings that I have observed over the years, it happens that, in most cases, the color is red.  The first seedling that caught my interest in this regard was 985R4, a bee cross on 953P (Holy Night X 93RR2 (Margarita x Momauguin)).

 985R4

This is a scarlet flower with a pronounced sheen.  I believe that the sheen is caused by how the structure of the flower’s petals reflects light to our eyes.

Whatever is causing that effect, it was transmitted to 985R4's progeny, 062X27 (985R4 X Cherry Glen), but to a lesser degree.  And, in 062X27, we also see what we call “diamond dust” pr sparkles on the petals.

062X27

‘Prince Igor’, whose too-lengthy-for-here pedigree is unrelated to 985R4 (as far as we know  – but what may 985R4's bee know?), also has a sheen.

'Prince Igor' Crump, 2009.

Switching, now, to blues and blue/blacks, I find the sheen in 072O1 (Stealth Fighter X Ranks of Blue)

072O1

and, to a lesser extent, in its sibling 072O22, which also displays “diamond dust”.

 072022

Another 'Stealth Fighter' derivative, 09S12 (Stealth Fighter X Holy Cow), shows pronounced sheen, top and bottom, in a very ruffled flower.

09S12

If the structure of the petals can “sharpen” colors, it can also “soften” them, I believe.  Here, for example, is ‘That Certain Something’, which appears to have a suede-like texture.

'That Certain Something'  Crump, 2008

As with 985R4 and 'Stealth Fighter', above, ‘That Certain Something’ also imparts its softer tone to its progeny, as in the case of seedling 042F3.

 042F3

So something may be going on in the way that we perceive color in irises.  I suspect something similar is at work with irises which appear to change color during the day.  If I’m correct, a reader with a greater degree of scientific knowledge may say, “Well, anybody who didn’t flunk physics should know that!”  But I’m willing to suffer the slings and arrows in order to broach the discussion, because, when we know how something works, we can begin to manipulate it.


Does anyone else see it this way? 

Amoenas: Iris Color Terminology

By Renee Fraser

When I received my first Schreiner's Catalog in the mail about fifteen years ago, I was bewildered by all of the terminology in the iris descriptions.  What could the word "self" possibly mean in relation to an iris?  And amoena looks like a type of tidepool creature.  Plicata, although fun to say, sounds like either a musical term or a type of pasta.  As I pored over the catalog, I slowly began to learn the differences.  For those of you who are new to irises, I hope this series of short posts on iris color classes will speed up the learning process.

An AMOENA  is an iris with white standards and colored falls.  It's my very favorite color pattern, and was the first color type of iris I ever bought from a catalog.  The iris below is called 'Fashion Passion', a tall and vigorous bloomer in here in Southern California.

'Fashion Passion" Burseen, 1992

 Perhaps the most famous amoena is 'Wabash', an historic iris that is still among the most popular irises in commerce.  The falls on this iris seem to have a neon glow.  I'm still searching for a photo of this iris I saw years ago that made my eyes wide with desire.  When I find it, I'll share it with you.  For now, look at this gorgeous clump from the Delaware Valley Iris Society.  

"Wabash" Williamson, 1936   Photo by CA Moyer

A favorite of mine is 'Ringo', even though it does not like me much.
I love the white rim around the falls.

"Ringo" Shoop, 1979 Photo by Betty Jacobs

Above all other flowers, I am smitten with red amoenas.  I am still looking for one with solid red falls that will grow well for me.  Although 'Looky Loo' has sanded instead of solid falls, it comes very close to my idea of flower color perfection.

"Looky Loo"  Ernst, 2005

Something about that frothy white whipped cream on top makes me amoena crazy.  Do you have a favorite amoena?  What color would you like to see in the falls with that lovely white?