Subtle little variegata ‘Mexicana’
(Salter before 1859, MTB)
, dave prichard
Not-so-subtle ‘Black and Gold’
(Rudolph Kleinsorge 1943, TB)
, mike unser
Luminata ‘Bertha Gersdorff’
(Jacob Sass 1942, TB)
, nancy mcdonald
The glorious blend ‘Prairie Sunset’
(Hans Peter Sass 1939, TB)
, dave prichard
world, the variegata pattern appears in all classes of
bearded irises.
‘Fire Chief’ (Galyon, 1959) is a classic mid-century
variegata. ‘Al-Lu-We’ (H. P. Sass, 1932) has yellowish
standards and ruddy red falls, so is also a variegata.
‘Gay Hussar’ (E. B. Williamson, 1929) has yellow
standards and maroon falls.
This leaves us with the blends. ‘Dolly Madison’ (E.
B. Williamson, 1927) is a blend of mauve and grey, with
very bright orange and yellow center. ‘Quaker Lady’
(Farr, 1909) is similar but more subtle. Sidney Mitchell
apparently was not a great fan of these back in the
1940s, as he described them in Iris for Every Garden as
“rather dull, combinations of smoky blue and gray or
yellow and red.” Yet blends are well loved among iris
gardeners, with their widely varying color patterns and
shadings. Irises like ‘Prairie Sunset’ (H. P. Sass, 1936) are
far from dull; it is a blend of light yellow, peach, copper,
and light red.
Newer Color Terminology
Luminata – This term became official
with a paper published in an AIS Bulletin
in 1972. Although the color pattern has
been around since at least the 1940s, it
was called by a variety of names—fancy,
fancy plicata, weirdie, and others—and
no one was exactly sure what was meant.
Now luminata has a very specific genetic
meaning, and true luminatas must meet
that genetic qualification. The term is also
used informally to mean any iris that looks
like a luminata. A luminata or luminataplicata
has a wash of color in the falls with
paler, rather than darker, veining. There
are clear unmarked areas on the hafts,
and usually a paler edge to the petals.
‘Moonlit Sea’ (J. Sass, 1942) is the classic
luminata. ‘Pretty Pansy’ (Sass Bros, 1946),
‘Fairy Fancy’ (H. E. Sass, 1953), ‘Havelberg’
(Schwartz, 1959), and ‘Bertha Gersdorff’ (J.
Sass, 1941) are all true luminatas, as is the
very rare ‘Weirdie’ (Craig, 1949).
Glaciata - This is a special type of iris
without any dark anthocyanin (blue, violet)
pigments. It may be yellow, cream, pink,
orange, or white. Luminatas and glaciatas
have precise genetic meanings, and they
are easily confused with irises that are
similar, but not exactly the real deal. Don’t
let this concern you unless you get into
breeding or are a purist. The garden effect of the
nearly-pure is just as lovely.
You should be able to apply your color pattern
knowledge to nearly any iris, thereby increasing
the possibility of confirming an identification. Even
gardeners with color perception problems should be
able to classify most iris blossoms into one of these
categories, though I admit it’s not always as easy as
it sounds. Some irises exhibit more than one color
pattern; for instance the modern ‘Howling At The
Moon’ (Lowell Baumunk 2012, TB) shows both variegata
and luminata patterns. Some irises all but defy
classification—but most, you will find, fit somewhere.
Cameras and computer monitors change the shade
of many colors, but paying attention to these color
patterns should help considerably in our identification
attempts.
d
Winter 2019 AIS Bulletin 37