Oncos 2011

[arillady]

The flowering stem of that one bent over - hence the gravel behind the flower - but the markings are superb aren't they - now to find out what the heck that one is.

[Hans A.]

Pat, I love your first pic ! this hybrid is gorgeous    ( but please don't repeat to anybody what I've told ... it's an hybrid   )

Thanks Fred - this was just a test a few years ago when I had masses of Iris paradoxa flowers - I see the result for the first time, and I like it (even it is an Hybrid )! It looks still better I thougt it would!

[arillady]

What??? You haven't a flower yet? You did plant some of the seed didn't you??

[BULBISSIME]

I just think South Australian climate is better for Oncos.
hans, are you ready to emigrate ?? 

[arillady]

Just don't become a boatperson as the government will send you to some island which hasn't signed up to treat their people well - if you are lucky!
Fred the seed arrived today - what can I say - THANKYOU so much

[BULBISSIME]

Great 
and thank's to custom people 

[Otto Fauser]

Hi Pat ,
    of the plants you sent me in February this year only this I. atropurpurea hybrid flowered a few days ago. I like its warm brown hues . Do you think it has some I. auranitica blood in it's parentage ?

         Still have not decided yet to take the short trip  ( on a leaky boat ) from Melbourne to Adelaide ,to enable me to grow oncos to perfection in the open garden as you manage to do .

[Hans A.]

Every day you can learn something new...
Following the article 'Rising to the challenge of Oncocyclus irises' in the 'Alpine gardener' those Iris in cultivation as Iris camillae are in fact Iris schelkownikowii - here a picture I had already posted in spring.
This species grows well here and this autumn it is also the one with the best germination so far.
I had distributed rhizomes and seed of my plants as Iris camillae - so please if any grower is growing the the "real?" camillae please do not cross them...

[Tom Waters]

Hello Hans! Could you explain further? My understanding is that I. schelkownikowii is a synonym for I. acutiloba as it is known in Russia, or perhaps a variant of I. acutiloba if one wishes to make much of small differences. I. camillae, I had thought, was distinct, although perhaps just one stable type in a hybrid complex. Your plants look like what I have known as I. camillae, not I. schelkownikowii. Is there some new information in the article that changes this picture?

Tom

[arillady]

After having a lovely clump of Iris camillae (or whatever it is) I have one small fan! Look after it well Hans - would love seed)
PS I am back on line after a week off line after changing internet plans and having to iron out the problems with antenna cables and wi-fis.

[Hans A.]

Think all 'Iris camillae' which are in cultivation actually where introduced by V. Pilous some years ago. The origin given was Lake Kazan Gel which is the locus classicus of this species - and so I think nobody checked if it could be something else.
Comparing pictures in Internet I allready wondered about the different shape of the flowers to those I grow, but thinking of its possibly hybrid origin I thought it could be in the the range of the variability...
Checking Brian Mathews 'The Iris' he mentioned Iris camillae is similar to Iris iberica, and also Köhlein mentioned it belongs to the 'Iberica group'. The plant grown as Iris camillae is totally different to Iris iberica but is similar to 'Iris acutiloba group', where Iris schelkownikowii belongs to. The description  of this plant in 'The Iris' fits with the plant in cultivation: "..flowers a little larger than Iris acutiloba.. /..standards darker and much larger than the falls/ signal patch purple and yellow beard " - the only picture I could find is this one: http://photo.simatika.ru/photo/Iris_schelkownikowii/1391

More pictures exist of Iris camillae:
http://www.plantarium.ru/page/view/item/20704.html and http://www.signa.org/index.pl?Display+Iris-camillae+1

Interesting is also the text at the bottom of this picture of Iris camillae where Iris schelkownikowii is mentioned:
http://www.signa.org/index.pl?Display+Iris-camillae+2

So I agree with the author of the article, the plant grown as Iris camillae could be Iris schelkownikowii - but there is still the question how did it get to Lake Kazan Gel. 

[Tom Waters]

Thank you Hans! This is very interesting. The plants grown as I. camillae (such as yours) do still seem quite different from the usual acutiloba/schelkownikowii to me, and have some points of similarity with the "real" camillae photos on that Russian site. I wonder if they are acutiloba-camillae hybrids.

At least this makes sense to those references to I. camillae being similar to I. iberica, which I had never understood. I just put it down to botanists seeing things differently from the rest of us. 

[Hans A.]

Tom, Iris schelkownikowii is not the same as Iris acutiloba, but an accepted species: http://apps.kew.org/wcsp/namedetail.do?name_id=339986
Mathew and Köhlein mentioned different colourforms - by far I have only seen bluish plants, but I hope some other colour will appear among the seedlings.

[arillady]

Here is another pix of Iris acutiloba ssp schenkownikowii - not sure where I found it now.

[Tom Waters]

Tom, Iris schelkownikowii is not the same as Iris acutiloba, but an accepted species

That seems to be a point on which different authorities disagree.