Library

Japanese woodblock print, 1907

Amoena – White standards over colored falls.

Anther – The pollen-bearing part of the stamen.

Apogon – Literally, without a beard. Applied to rhizomatous irises which have no beard or crest.

Arilbred – Hybrid bearded varieties crossing aril (onco and regelia) and eupogon or true bearded irises.

Beard -Line of fuzzy hairs at the top of the falls.

Bicolor – Standards of one color, over falls of a different color.

Bitone – Standards and Falls are two tones of the same color.

Blend – Two or more colors blended together.

Diploid – Having two sets of chromosomes.

Falls – 3 lower petals of iris flower.

Flounces – Appendages on a Space Age iris extending from the tip of the beard like little petals.

Form – Usually refers to the shape of a flower.

Ground – The underlying color of a petal.

Hafts – Top part of falls alongside the beard.

Historic – An iris more than 30 years of age.

Horns – Spear like projections extending from the tip of the beards on a Space Age iris.

Hybrid – The offspring of genetically unlike parents.

Hybridization – The cross polination of two genetically different varieties.

Luminata – Wash of color in falls with paler veining; clear unmarked area on hafts; usually paler edge to petals.

Neglecta – Light blue standards over deeper colored falls.

Noid – Literally No I.D., an iris that has lost it’s proper name.

Pistil – The female reproductive structure of the flower. in irises this includes the ovary, style, style arm, and stigmatic lip.

Plicata – Stippled, stitched or solid margin color on lighter ground color.

Pogon – A word of Greek origin meaning beard, commonly used to describe any bearded iris

Japanese woodblock print, 1910

Rebloomer – Iris that blooms in any other season in addition to its normal spring bloom time; also called remontant

Rhizome – A modified creeping or underground stem, often enlarged to serve as a storage organ, and with roots and buds developing from the nodes.

Self – An iris of one all-over color

Signal – Color spot just below the beard. Mostly used in reference to beardless irises which often have a signal patch where a beard would be.

Spathe – In early stages of development the spathes enclose and protect the young flower buds. May be green and fleshy or dry and papery. sometimes purple tints come in as well.

Japanese woodblock print, 1926

Space ager – Iris with flounces, horns or spoons projecting from the beard tiips.

Spoons – Spooned appendages extending from beard on a Space Age iris.

Stamen – The pollen-bearing structure of the flower consisting of a filament and anther containing the pollen grains. In an iris bloom they are held below the style arms.

Style arms – Small stiff segments above the beards, which end with the style crest.

Tetraploid – Having 4 sets of chromosomes.

Triploid – Having three sets of chromosomes.

Variegata – Yellow standards over reddish colored falls.