The Clarence G. White Medal

The highest award given by the American Iris Society strictly to Aril and Arilbred Irises with 1/2 or more aril content

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History from Clarence Mahan:

This medal is restricted to irises of one-half or more aril content that clearly exhibit at least two readily recognizable aril flower characteristics as defined and approved by the Aril Society International. It is named in honor of Clarence G. White (1869-1957).

Clarence G. White was born in Cleveland, Ohio. After attending Harvard University, he worked for the White Sewing Machine Company, which had been founded by his father. Later he operated his family's plantation in Florida. His experiments with potato growing in Florida have been credited with being the basis for establishing the potato business in that state. He moved to Hawaii in 1905, and there he owned and operated a large pineapple plantation. He was involved in many philanthropies and civic activities. He moved his family to Redlands, California in 1919, and he began raising flowers and extending his works of civic philanthropy. It was at this time that White developed an interest in and irises.

When Clarence G. White began his work with aril irises, little was known about the complexity of iris genetics. White assembled the largest collection of aril irises in the world, and conducted thousands of breeding experiments to obtain viable, fertile seedlings. One of his goals was to develop strong, pure Oncocylus hybrids. Tom Craig wrote this of him in 1958: "He contributed so much to the interest in Aril Iris that his name above all others is associated with them. For twenty-five years, Clarence White and his work have rightly been the starting point for anyone wishing to explore the field of growing and hybridizing Arils."

White's hybrids, such as 'Oyez', 'Some Love', and 'Nelson of Hilly', were almost the only Oncobreds listed in catalogues for many years. He coined the vocabulary used by aril iris hybridizers, and is universally regarded as the pioneer in this field.

From Aril Society International (ASI):

Since 1993, the Clarence G. White memorial medal has been awarded to the best arilbred iris with 1/2 or more aril ancestry. (Before 1993, it was the C. G. White award, equivalent to an award of merit. Arilbreds must now earn an award of merit before they can qualify for the C. G. White medal.) The medal honors C. G. White, who in the 1950s created the family of fertile arilbreds that still dominates arilbred breeding today.

List of Clarence G. White Medal winners - Aril (Ar) and Arilbred (Ab) Irises with 1/2 or more aril content:

			'Hammurabi' 2011 - Lowell Baumunk
'Rivers Of Babylon' 2010 - Lowell Baumunk	'Spirit Of Caleb' 2009 - Peter McGrath	'Byzantine Art' 2008 - Lowell Baumunk	'Omar's Eye' 2007 - Carl Boswell
'Omar's Stitchery' 2006 - C. Boswell	'Concerto Grosso' 2005 - H. Mathew	'Chocolate Mint' 2004 - R. Tasco	'Energizer' 2003 - H. Shockey
'Lancer' 2002 - H. Shockey	'Desert Fury' 2001 - H. Shockey	'Sheba's Jewel' 2000 - H. Shockey	'Queen Sheba' 1999 - H. Shockey

Note that most classifications within the AIS Awards System began with Award of Merit (AM) equivalent Awards, later elevated to Medal status. At this transition, previous Award winners from a specified period of time re-competed for the higher Medal honors. Thus there are some duplicate entries (*).

-- Main.RPries - 2009-12-24