Clarence Mahan
I recently subscribed to a new magazine, The English Garden which is published in England but has subscription offices in the U.S. and Canada (P0. Box 345, Landisburg, PA 17040 or 3780 Peter Street, Windsor, ON N9C 4H2). I have always considered The Garden, published by the Royal Horticultural Society, to be the best magazine for serious gardeners, and continue to hold that view. But this new magazine, replete with excellent substantive articles and beautiful photography, is now high on my list of favorite publications. One of the articles in the October/November 1997 issue is on the great plant hunter and builder and writer on rock gardens Reginald Farrer.
One of the facts mentioned in the article on Farrer is that he has species named for him "in the anemone, allium, aster; buddleja, deutzia, gentian, geranium, jasmine, lily, meconopsis, peony, potentilla, rodgersia, rose, semi-aquilegia, syringa and viburnum families." It was disappointing not to see the Genus Iris mentioned but I imagine that its omission is because the species which Dykes named Iris farreri is now designated L polysticata, with the name "I. farreri" given only as a synonym. The new book edited by the Species Group of the British Iris Society A Guide to Species Irises, their Identification and Culture, reports that this little known iris properly belongs in Series Tenuifoliae rather than in Series Spuriae where it was previously assigned. This reclassification is based on research performed at Kew by Dr Cutler and Qi-gen Wu. Poor Iris farreri! First its name is mixed up, and now we learn its Series has been wrong all these years!
The Societa Italiana delliIris and the University of Rome "La Sapienza" are jointly sponsoring an international conference in Rome on 8 - 11 May 1998 on "Irises and Iridaceae: Biodiversity & Systematics." The official language will be English, but Italian and other European languages also may be used provided a large summary of the presentation is submitted in English. The conference will be in the Orto Botanico in Rome and will coincide with an exhibition of irises and the annual "Concorso Internazionale delliIris" in Florence. A day trip to Florence to view irises will be included, and an optional field excursion will be available on May 11.
A list of hotels and a listing of social events held in conjunction with the conference will be provided upon request.
The conference planners asked that reservations for the conference be made by November 1997, but the information was not available to put into the October, 1997 Bulletin. If you would like to attend, write Professor Maria Colasante at once. Her address is: Prof Maria Antonietta Colasante, Dipartimento di Biologia Vegetale, Universita "La Sapienza" P. le A. Moro 5, 00185, Roma, Italy. Telephone: +396 49912418. Her email address is <colasante@axrma.uniroma1 it>.
Here are some addresses of overseas iris organizations, or organizations with a significant interest in irises: