Tempo Two, Pearcedale, Victoria, Australia. Iris, Daylilies, Hosta Catalogue 1986-1987
BEAUMONDE (Lorna Hodges '86 Aust) M. 36" This has been a favourite of ours since it was a seedling in the raisers garden. This popularity was increased when it started to win awards in the trial garden. It is a plicata with a ground colour of white. Standards are muted blue violet with a cast of colour throughout; falls are heavily veined muted blue violet. Beards are bright orange. It is a super grower with lovely branching. Has to be seen to be appreciated. (Smoke Rings x (Cabaret Royale x Porta Villa)) HC 83, Merton Calvert Award 84, AM,85.....................................$25.00
AIS Checklist 1989
BEAUMONDE (Lorna Hodges, R. 1985) Sdlg. TG 83-43. TB, 36" (91 cm), M. S. greyed blue violet; F. white ground heavily lined greyed blue violet; bright orange beard. Smoke Rings X (Cabaret Royale x Porta Villa). Tempo Two 1986/87. H.C. 1983, Merton Calvert Award 84, A.M.1985, Iris Society of Australia.
Now here's the rub. I did a search on the internet for 'Beaumonde' some time ago before I purchased this iris and found a limited amount of accurate information and I also viewed a page on the much vaunted by others for its accuracy the "Iris Encyclopedia". I did at the time as this site suggests email Bob Pries (he's the ringmaster for the Iris Encyclopedia) about the obvious problem, as usual I did not receive a reply but for me thats not really a surprise. For a considerable length of time (A good part of this year that I have noted) this is how the page has displayed on the wiki.
Mr Pries very recently stated in HIPS E magazine 'Flags'
"The Iris Register and the Iris Encyclopedia are often compared but have different missions. The Register presents the official registrations as printed in the checklists. One of its primary assets is it is immutable at least by viewers. It serves as an accurate archive of the official registration data. But much of this information may no longer be true, particularly because of definition drift.' he then goes on to state,'The Iris Encyclopedia is attempting to provide a complete up to date information resource on the Genus Iris. Although we attempt to provide the original official registration data, in the case of the 1939 checklist registrations, we are also seeking inclusion of the material from the references given. Also users can provide annotations. For the Iris historian this should prove to be an invaluable resource for the future.'
Really ?.................Tell me something, has the definition of the colour 'Greyed Blue Violet' drifted so far in twenty seven years that it has now become 'Vivid Reddish Orange'?? The wiki image is so far off the written registered colour description that just about anyone could have looked at the photo and said, "I don't think so." Just how many more pages like this are there on this site??
It's no good telling me this is a one off (I can guarantee this is not) or that this is just my expression of a dissenting opinion regarding the wiki, I look at this situation like this, the addition of information to the official registration data should be at least as accurate as the original data that was submitted by the hybridiser when he or she filled in the original registration form, the attaching of additional information needs to be vigorously reviewed before displaying on the web and if you don't have the resource to do this, don't start the journey. The objective of a checklist is most of all accuracy that can be relied on, what it is not is a free-for-all that is justified by a so called 'definition drift'.
Hope may not be warranted at this point!!!
Currently Daves Garden, when it comes to accuracy regarding the 'Tall Bearded Iris 'Beaumonde'' beats this wiki thing hands down and that site is without a photo!!
As always clicking on the above image will take you to the larger, higher resolution version. Reproduction in whole or in part of this post, its opinions or its images without the expressed written permission of Terry Johnson is strictly prohibited. Photo credit and copyright Terry Johnson and Heritage Irises ©.
I notice the photograph comes from Blue J Iris, an outfit in Nebraska. On their webpage they say the following:
ReplyDeleteOur Guarantee:
"We guarantee our iris to be true to name. To accomplish this we promise to go to great lengths to PREVENT any errors being sent to you. We are undergoing an extensive double-checking process where we are photographing all our blooms this year and comparing them to their descriptions. We have also developed a tracking system where we tag each rhizome as soon as it is dug. We strive for "Blue J True" quality assurance and customer satisfaction!"
A bit of a worry, as there was obviously not much comparing to description here!
Thanks for your point of view Gareth its appreciated. Some wag from America has just emailed me with the suggestion that the photo used on the wiki page above is a Ben Hager iris 'Anything Goes'. I can't say for sure that it is 'Anything Goes' but it does seem very appropriate given the circumstances.
ReplyDeleteAww that's the iris my mum bred. A very nice specimen you have there.
ReplyDeleteThey seem to have corrected the photo at the Iris Encyclopedia site. I noticed another incorrect image on All Things Plants and recently asked them to remove it, which they did. I uploaded one of my own images.
ReplyDelete