The ersatz 'Lady Godiva.' slide shown to the right was obtained in 1992 from a large mid-western nursery. We eagerly looked forward to the first bloom expecting it to be close to the Farr 1909 catalog description as follows: 'bluish white, flushed rose' or what the hybridizer, Perry described it in his 1906 catalog offering: 'blush white, prettily flushed pink.'

I have seen it described in a more modern catalog as, 'the red and white Siberian.' This I don't believe for a second, but I do expect to see a cultivar that leans to a pink/rose/magenta wash in some area of the flower with the predominant color being white with a blue/lavender overcast. What I don't expect to see is a very strong, prominent, bright yellow shoulder marking a la Rimouski/Snowcrest/Snow Queen. Or, was a prominent yellow shoulder such a common feature of all 'almost white' iris at the turn of the century, it often went unspoken? I think not, and continue to believe I have never seen the real 'Lady Godiva' as each of my impostors are strongly washed with yellow in the haft area as depicted to the right. I see no hint of 'pink, rose, magenta or red in this slide, which is an accurate rendition of how the iris appeared in our garden.

Does anyone have a clue as to the correct identity?