Beard iris
The bearded iris (Iris Barbata hybrids, Iris × conglomerata L.F.Hend. ) Is a cultivar of several species of the genus Iris ( Iris ). It originated from the cross between Iris pallida and Iris variegata (both diploid ) and other tetraploid, Asiatic irises.
description
The bearded iris grows as a perennial herbaceous plant that has a rhizome . The flower consists of three hanging leaves with the eponymous combs or beards on the back of the leaf and three upright standards. Above each hanging leaf there is a stigma that is shaped and colored like a bract.
breeder
Crosses of Iris pallida and Iris variegata ( German Iris , Iris × germanica ) have existed since the Middle Ages . In the course of time, tetraploid readings emerged from the two diploid parent species.
At the end of the 19th century, the English doctor Michael Foster (1836-1907) crossed Iris pallida and Iris variegata with tetraploid Asian species in his garden Nine Wells near Cambridge , including Iris cypriana , Iris trojana and Iris macrantha from Turkey, Iris kashmiriana , Iris cengialti and iris mesopotamica . Also among the Asiatic plants that Foster used, there may have been old cultivated hybrids. The new hybrids had larger petals, larger flowers, richer colors, and thicker stems. 'Catharina', a cross between Iris pallida and Iris cypriana , was introduced in 1909. It is named after the last Queen of Cyprus, Katharina Cornaro . The deep blue ' Crusader ' with a rich fragrance is also an Iris-Cypriana hybrid. 'Amas' is a cross between a species collected in 1885 at Amasya , Turkey, with Iris pallida x variegata . George Yeld in particular continued to breed this line.
In France, the family company Vilmorin, Andrieux et Cie was particularly active in growing irises. In 1898 they brought the diploid 'Caprice' on the market, which still exists today. 'Isoline' is also diploid. 'Tamerlane' was the first tetraploid variety. The famous 'Oriflamme', introduced in 1904, is only documented by herbaria . The hybrid 'Alcazar' introduced in 1910 has since been released into the wild in the Paris area. 'Ambassadeur' (1920) was her most successful breed. In 1938 Ferdinand Cayeux bred the variety Iris 'Louvois' with deep red hanging leaves, pink standards and a bright yellow beard.
Versions such as Iris 'Storrington' and the veined Iris 'Benton Ankaret' with pink standards go back to the English artist Cedric Morris (1889–1982). The latter is named after his country estate Benton near Hadleigh in Suffolk .
There were and are very active iris breeders in the USA too.
Since the 1960s, more and more frilled varieties with very large flowers have been grown, as shown in the picture above.
The iris varieties are often divided into different groups according to their height. Classical is the division into the three groups Barbata-Nana-Gruppe, Barbata-Media-Gruppe and Barbata-Elatior-Gruppe. In the English-speaking world, a finer subdivision with more groups is now being made.
societies
- Society of Staudenfreunde eV (formerly German Iris Society, German Iris and Lily Society)
- American Iris Society, USA
- Historic Iris Preservation Society, USA
- Species Iris Group of North America
literature
- Claire Austin: Iris: The Classic bearded Varieties (photos by Clay Perry) . Quadrille 2004. ISBN 978-1844000807
- Michael Loftus: Classic bearded Iris . Garden Illustrated, May 2012, 70–77.
- Eckehart J. Jäger, Friedrich Ebel, Peter Hanelt, Gerd K. Müller (eds.): Excursion flora from Germany . 5. Herbaceous ornamental and useful plants. Springer, Berlin Heidelberg 2008, ISBN 978-3-8274-0918-8 , pp. 709-710 .
