Iris Encyclopedia Projects - How You Can Help
See also:
Earlier thoughts from 2019
Projects that now have their own project page:
Awards Projects.
The Iris Encyclopedia has been created by the American Iris Society for all irisarians and would-be irisarians. Similar to the better known Wikipedia, the thousands of edits and editors have created and continue to improve it.
There are many opportunities for you to help. Each typo you find and correct, each punctuation correction, each link added or corrected, and each piece of additional information you add is important. There are also topics requiring regular updates and areas for new developments. Some of these are described below.
General Note: This page is to help you see what might be done. As you complete any of the tasks, please update this page to let others know the status.
Projects to Organize or Link
Please add your thoughts and links to these.
- Photos - One of the strengths of the Iris Encyclopedia is the abundance of photos of individual irises. It can always use more! Contact Terry Laurin - email tlaurin@rogers.com - if you can help by contributing photos, locating photos, or identifying irises needing photos. [Add specific projects here or on a separate page]
- New Hybridizers - Betsy Higgins has created a page listing the hybridizers who have registered their first iris during each year from 2010 through 2017. Help is needed to continue this work. One way of approaching this is using a text search for "R. 2018" which includes the double quotes to locate all irises registered in 2018. Then see which ones (~1100) contain hybridizer names beyond the well known hybridizers. Have done this to locate 27 new 2018 hybridizers. Need to confirm country location for most of them. Search contains 23 pages - completed checking all pages. [Note: number of pages in search increased from 22 to 23. Presumably 1 or more new pages were added. For this reason have begun listing current last item on each search page when complete them. This way may be able to tell as new ones are added. However, with 50 entries per page, 40 some more will need to be added to get another page added to the search. Can an automatic count search be created to find how many there are?] Search page 1 last entry IB Blurred Vision. Search page 2 last entry JiXinhuayu . Search page 3 last entry MdbMiniMouseEars . Search page 4 last entry MtbSurMesure . Search page 5 last entry SdbAvalonWine . Search page 6 last entry SdbIveGotTheBlues . Search page 7 last entry SdbRoaringFire . Search page 8 last entry SpecMarishka . Search page 9 last entry TbBeaujolaisVillage . Search page 10 last entry TbCieloAMeta . Search page 11 last entry TbDiscoLights . Search page 12 last entry TbFrozenFire . Search page 13 last entry TbHottie . Search page 14 last entry TbKriminal . Search page 15 last entry TbMarieAlaina . Search page 16 last entry TbOgniMoskvy . Search page 17 last entry TbPowerStruggle . Search page 18 last entry TbRubisSurLOngle . Search page 19 last entry TbSongSungSlow . Search page 20 last entry TbTijaraDottie . Search page 21 last entry TbVeronicaIvette . Search page 22 last entry TbZwiadowca . No entries found on page 23. 2019 New Hybridizers started using similar search. Currently 22 pages. Search page 1 done last entry IbBlushingFairy . Found 2 new hybridizers on first page. Another approach is searching "under construction" in the text of the Bio web and looking at the ages of the files (2018, 2019, 2020 need checked for being 2018, 2019, or 2020 hybridizers). This approach gives 7 pages of results currently. Page 1 completed. Page 1 last entry HybridizerKnipeGarry .
- The AIS Hager-DuBose Memorial Online Library - Containing the literature of irisdom, there is considerable expansion of this library still to accomplish. Publications by all parts of AIS and other iris societies need located, copyright cleared for inclusion, scanned, and added.
- Novelty Irises - How can we link them to locate novelty iris cultivars? Example 'Wichita Falls' is described as a flat form in the official description. Should this be labeled as a flattie and a novelty iris?
- Update Needed - Is this a way to tag projects that we have identified and not had time to complete? A text search for "update needed" would identify those where we believe work is needed. And a description such as check Iris Register could be appended to the page so it is clear what the update would be for.
- Popularity Polls - We have a page listing several that can be found on the Iris Encyclopedia which points to several photo galleries. How might we identify more and add them?
- Duplicate Names - There are a number of irises with the same name. Some of these are distinguished in the Iris Encyclopedia by the second iris being named 'Original Name By Registrant', for example 'Salutation By Hall' for the second name and 'Salutation' for the first name. Do we have a list of the duplicates? Do we mark them someway so pedigrees of other irises will link to the proper entry? Others have "Note: Not to be confused with" in their entry. These can be found by searching text for "not to be confused" including the double quotes. There are currently 4 pages of results for this search.
- HC's and EC's - How should we list these? Searching for "high commendation" finds 19 pages of results. Searching for hc finds 30 pages of results. Check Exhibition Certificates vs EC searches. The HC's and EC's may be listed under either name or seedling number in the reported results. Have used AIS Bulletin #316 January 2000, page 105, "High Commendation Awards for 1999" to add HC to those listed by name using "HC 1999 (under name)". Similarly, the one having both seedling number and name in the report was entered as "HC 1999 (under seedling number)". That was 'Madam President'.
- Garden Observations - Phenology is the record of when something bloomed over time. It helps you understand how this year compares to previous years and what you might expect as the year progresses. It can also help others decide what they wish to include in their gardens. You can record your observations under each cultivar using the comments box. Are there other ways of organizing such comments to make them more useful? Perhaps having records from test gardens or individual gardens that are linked to or from individual cultivars. Does this project need better definition of how it might work?
- I. reticulata in SPX names need differentiated from others of the same name. Search reticulata in text to find these which are frequently from McMurtrie and check the names against Iris Register online to find possible counterparts.
- New Hybridizers 2020 can now be found in the Iris Register. Example is C. Simmons who has 10 entries, Needs details added. Links are to Iris Register (need emembership).
- AVONIA ARTISTRY (C. Simmons, R. 2020) Sdlg. 4116. TB, 33.5" (85 cm), E-L
AVONIA BEGUILING (C. Simmons, R. 2020) Sdlg. 2115. TB, 41" (104 cm), M
AVONIA BOLD CONTENDER (C. Simmons, R. 2020) Sdlg. 5017. TB, 43.5" (110 cm), M
AVONIA BOLD ELEGANCE (C. Simmons, R. 2020) Sdlg. 5117. TB, 43.5" (110 cm), M-L
AVONIA DAINTY DAZZLER (C. Simmons, R. 2020) Sdlg. 3516. TB, 31.5" (80 cm), M
AVONIA DESERT SUNSET (C. Simmons, R. 2020) Sdlg. 2615. TB, 34.5" (88 cm), E-M
AVONIA IN A WHIRL (C. Simmons, R. 2020) Sdlg. 3216. TB, 36" (91 cm), E-M
AVONIA JUST A FLING (C. Simmons, R. 2020) Sdlg. 3217. TB, 31" (79 cm), M
AVONIA RAINBOW (C. Simmons, R. 2020) Sdlg. 3015. TB, 32" (81 cm), M-L
AVONIA SOFTLY SOFTLY (C. Simmons, R. 2020) Sdlg. 3916. TB, 37" (94 cm), E-M
- The title search "ginger" in Iris Encyclopedia gives 39 results while the Iris Register online gives 40 (5/6/21) . What is missing in the Iris Encyclopedia?
-
AIS and Other Awards
These have been moved to a separate
Awards Projects page. These generally deal with:
- Maintenance and updating well established awards such as the AIS Medals Awards
- Identifying other awards and creating pages to collect information about them
This
index is found in the left-hand column of the Iris Encyclopedia. Projects include adding new entries, updating old entries, and adding new subjects. A special project is updating the links to the
AIS website because of recent restructuring of that website.
Specific Cultivars and Entries
A list to for changes to individual pages needed. Please remove from list when you have updated the individual page completely.
Note: There are also two pages where you can report errors on particular pages. These are the
Iris Wiki Manager and the
Iris Wiki Photo Manager pages. Use the email addresses on those pages for faster attention.
- 'Berlin-Cape Connection' catalog cites EC and HC which are not found in the entry or the Iris Register. Where can the 1996 HCs be found? Are ECs normally listed for cultivars?
- 'Allah' has "chamaeiris dwarf season" for the season both in the Iris Encyclopedia and the Iris Register. Is this a typo?
- Are these photos correct? 'White Arts' described as "pure white self, white beard" and the pictures almost all contain a yellow or brown rim on standards and falls and the beard has some yellow in the throat. [25MAY2021 - Picture owners have been contacted. Update to follow once ID verified. (KB)]
- 'Pittypat's Calico' Note: Not found in the online Iris Register when checked on 11/12/2020. What other sources need checked to find where the name came from?
- 'Quite Content' needs worked through because the Iris Register has 3 entries.
- 'Turkish Topaz' RH (Lloyd Austin, R. 1976). AR, 18" (46 cm). Midseason to late bloom. Standards blue white with amber yellow edge; Falls yellow brown with some purple striations; blue beard. Court of Iris, 1962. Honorable Mention 1980. These dates were confirmed in the Iris Register online. How do they come about?
- 'Maid Of India' shown in Iris Register online as "MAID OF INDIA (M & L Crawford, R. 1962) AR, 36" (91 cm), M
S creamy white; F same, violet-brown and yellow markings on shoulders; brown beard. Parentage unknown. Peggy's Iris Patch 1965." Does this need a new cultivar created or a correction?
- The Hybridizer entryf or Alan McMurtrie should be updated to include Hybridizer medals from BIS and AIS. Does I. reticulata need a general update?
- Development of Plicata Irises from the book World Of Irises has photos illustrating various discussions. The photos are from the Iris Encyclopedia. There are a number referenced that need the photos inserted. Another project would be to check the other chapters of this book.
- 'My Lady' has 'My Lady' by Benson 1954, 'My Lady' by McKinney 1925, and 'My Lady' by McKee 1924. The McKee one does not show up in the online Iris Register and appears to have info attributed to McKinney in it. Found by following up on Suzanne Butler's comments on the Iris Wiki Photo Manager page concerning the photos.
- Innocence title search has 12 results in the Iris Encyclopedia and 18 in the Iris Register. Some differences are clear; however, the Iris Encyclopedia may be missing some cultivars.
- There is an Iris Register Database entry: " VENUSTA
(No description available for most 1939 & 1949 registrations)" however there is no Iris Encyclopedia entry for this
- Henry Lee Grant is an interesting example of a hybridizer page. Their cultivar listing contains either "name, R. year" or "name, year". Is there a consistent difference in meaning? Will need to consult printed 1939 and 1949 indexes.
- Moscow Iris Competition - does this appear on the awards page? Need editing.
- 'Lizzie' was a TB on the 1925 Black List and is in the Iris Register (no details for 1939 and 1949 registrations) however no entry in Iris Encyclopedia.
- What does the 1967 at the end of 'Arabian Knight' entry mean? Iris Register online did not have that.
- What does the [AA] in some aril entries mean? Examples 'Angel's Star' has [AA] [PP]. 'Angharad' has [AA]. 'Arethusa' has [AA].
The Iris Encyclopedia and its underlying software contain many capabilities which can help us expand its uses. Here are some that might help you.
- Searches - Searches can be saved and reused. Examples are given in the New Hybridizers project above. Another example is the Hybridizers by Location page which is essentially a page of searches. We probably should add an entry for "under construction" which frequently means the location is not available or has not been entered for that hybridizer.
Future Possibilities
A list for possible general topics. Please add your comments on the listed topics and please add other topics. Topics can be separated from this list as they become well enough defined.
- Gardens Web topics. The Gardens Web contains a number of top level topics that need developed further. Also, the individual gardens could use more detail and photos.
- Conservation and Preservation. Whether it is protecting iris species or conserving iris cultivars, AIS, its members, and its components have a number of initiatives underway. A project to pull these together would help everyone see how they fit together and might inspire additional activities. Some of the Iris Encyclopedia resources for this are: 1. Guardian Gardens Video 2. National Collections for several countries can be found starting with the Gardens Web. 3. Conservation Status is a page that was begun to list species population status and cultivars population status. It needs further consideration for how to proceed. [Note - look at the search linked on this page for extinct and change to include extinction.] 4. The National Collections Spring 2020 Report was presented at the August 26, 2020 AIS Board Teleconference and is a good source for recent activities in this area. 5. Look at Strategic Planning for AIS Vision Statements to include. Can you predict which irises are likely to disappear? Both in the wild and in cultivation. If we can predict, what might we do?
- Historic Irises registered by others - Examples include Philip Edinger, Katie Carstensen, and Helen Graham Reynolds aka El Dorado Iris Gardens. The Sass Brothers may be a useful starting point for others.
- Edit-a-thons - Organize group sessions to learn about and work on specific parts of the Iris Encyclopedia. May be a way to encourage additional editing volunteeers.
- Duplicate entries such as https://wiki.irises.org/Spec/SpecAaronsBlue and https://wiki.irises.org/Spec/AaronsBlue which need to be combined into the first entry to match the file naming convention. Both a couple of a specific pages and a possible general topic. This example is listed in the Specific Cultivars and Entries as well as here.
- Hybridizing topics. A good general starting point is the AIS Bulletin Bibliography of Hybridizing. Is there a good starting point for chromosome counts? Another good general starting point is the label hybridizing in the World of Irises blog.
- Linking catalogs and the associated websites. An example of how it might be done is https://wiki.irises.org/Hist/NurseriesJoePyeWeed where a link to the website has been added to the automatically generated list of nurseries.
- Photo Discussion Areas - There are some pictures that may not match the description. We have some ways of flagging them to ask experts for opinions. These could be developed further. An example, to my untrained eye, is 'White Arts' described as "pure white self, white beard" and the pictures almost all contain a yellow or brown rim on standards and falls and the beard has some yellow in the throat.
- Hybridizers page layout. The French hybridizers pages are arranged by year under each class of iris they have registered. Elisabeth Baudoin is a recent example of this. Is this a change we should consider generally? Another possibility to include would be having photos of each of the hybridizers irises. Probably unwieldy for many hybridizers. One thing to check on each hybridizer page is the location. Make sure USA is included for appropriate addresses. Also, should we include the Region they are from in the location? See Roy and Mildred Brizendine as an example where it is used. What sources do we use for finding locations? Fixed this example: "Hybridizer Carl Boswell needs his location added so he can be found when searching Hybridizers By State." by finding obituary online to see it was California. Example showing hybridizer cultivars with date is Mrs. Louis Lohman.
- World of Irises blog index - The AIS World of Irises blog is a major resource with over 700 entries and growing every week. SIGNA has created an index of the species iris entries. Would something like this be useful?
This is an example of how it might look
- Four months of Pacifica Iris blooms, and still going in late June Labels: early blooming irises, late season blooming irises, midseason blooming irises, Pacific Iris, PCI
- TALL BEARDED IRISES WITH UNKNOWN PARENTS Labels: Clarence, Dawn Mumford, Dykes Medal, How to hybridize irises, Sweet Serenade, Syrian Hills, War Sails
- Completeness of Entries - by hybridizer in the example I've found in M. E. Kitton where there are 17 cultivars listed in their entry and 21 found in the iris register. Is there a way of comparing number of entries like this easily? Note: Found by searching moonscape on Iris Encyclopedia and on Iris Register where one more was found on the latter. Have tagged the hybridizer update needed. Have also added the Iris Register info to the Hybridizer entry.
- HM and AM awards - Honorable Mention and Award of Merit are the first steps in the AIS Awards system. Not all irises that have received them have them included in their cultivar page. The Decennial Iris Check List's award sections are a resource that summarizes the irises receiving HMs or AMs during each period. How can we organize using these Check List tables to update the cultivar pages?
- 1999 Iris Checklist - Pages 517 through 548 = 32 pages X 56/page = ~1800 entries
- 1989 Iris Checklist - Pages 365 through 397 = 33 pages X 61/page = ~2000 entries
- 1979 Iris Checklist - Pages 309 through 367 = 59 pages X ~56/page = ~3300 entries
- 1969 Iris Checklist - No separate listing for awards. Probably ~2000 entries
- 1959 Iris Checklist - Awards 1920 - 1959 on pages 235 through 265 = 31 pages X ~56/page = ~1700 entries
- Total ~11,000 entries
- AIS White List and AIS Black List from 1925 (this is a HIPS article not the original article) and possibly some others do not appear generally referenced in the Iris Encyclopedia. Should we have the lists as entries and links to it from the appropriate cultivars? Note - something to follow-up on is apparently there are a few cultivars in a row that do not show up in the wiki. Those are Li in the Black List. Marked on my copy from the Bulletin.
What Else Would You Like to See in the Iris Encyclopedia
In addition to working on current contents, what new areas might we be developing in the Iris Encyclopedia? Please add your suggestions and comments below.
- NOID Identification -
- Many people who have NOID iris would like a way to be able to search for possible matches. Is there a way that we could possibly have x-lg thumbnails for each cultivar with a photo, and for those where there is no photo a description of the iris? In addition to the photos, have a link for each cultivar? I just find it a lot quicker to glance through a bunch of photos for a possibility, rather than click on each individual cultivar's name.
With Tall Bearded iris, there are so many to go thru, I was wondering if they could be divided as to Self's, Bicolor, Bitone, Plicata, etc… and then divided further in groups of colors of standards. It is something I would be willing to work on. Holly Johnson -
Holly.Johnson.MN@gmail.com I don't know if a word document could be retrofitted into something like this or not, but I have one already completed for the MTB's. --
HollyJohnson2017 -04-01 - 05 Nov 2020
Items Completed
These have been moved from above and are saved here for lessons learned.
- How is it possible to have these 2 pages for a hybridizer that look like they have the same address? Nina Abramova 1st in a search and Nina Abramova 2nd in a search (was searching "under construction" in Bio web.) And why did I miss this for a new 2018 hybridizer? Removed first example of Nina Abramova as the "Hybridizer" in the file name was misspelled Hbridizer.
- 'Caffe Di Bari' needs introduction listed or date changed. Iris Register online showed the registration date as 2019.
- 'Joyce Elin' needed formatting changed to allow the left-hand column to sit correctly. Fixed 3/19/21. Can compare with previous version to see the commands that have been removed.
- 'Boot Scootin Boogie' does not appear in the online Iris Register. Did it's name change before introduced? Yes, found later name 'Jim's Gem' in the Iris Encyclopedia by searching the text for the seedling designation. Added notes to both of the entries.
- 'Foretell' is listed in SPX and Sib for the same cultivar. Need reconciled. There is also something said about it in the Judges Handbook. The Iris Register online does not contain the color code in these entries. Where did that come from? Check 1979 Checklist. ANSWER: as indicated on the WIKI, this iris should appear as both SPX and SIB, it is a SIB hybrid The iris' registration appears in the 1969 Checklist. This is where the color code came from. (24May2021)
- Duplicate entries such as https://wiki.irises.org/Spec/SpecAaronsBlue and https://wiki.irises.org/Spec/AaronsBlue which need to be combined into the first entry to match the file naming convention. Both a couple of a specific pages and a possible general topic. Added to Possible Projects SOLUTION: Duplicate entry deleted after pictures transferred. (24May2021)
- 'White Queen' says originally introduced as 'Queen Mary' but does not have a link to the 'Queen Mary' page by a different hybridizer. Are they related? ANSWER: The 1939 Checklist indicates that 'Queen Mary' introduced by Geylenkek is a synonym for 'White Queen' however it is not he same 'Queen Mary' introduced by Amos Perry in 1913 hence there no link is made between the pages. (25May2021)
- 'Skydancer' is a SDB while 'Sky Dancer' is a Spuria. Similar to 'Eyecatcher' above. Are one word names corresponding to two word names confusing? SOLUTION: Notation put on each, not to confuse with the other, with a link. (26MAY2021)
--
WayneMesser - 12 Oct 2020
- How do I contact Terry Laurin for photo submissions? -- LindseySmith - 28 Oct 2020
- Good question Lindsey. I have added his email address to that part of the page. It's tlaurin@rogers.com . -- WayneMesser - 29 Oct 2020
- And an update, turns out there is an Wiki Photo Manager page that has the email. A link to that is now included above. -- WayneMesser - 02 Nov 2020
- Many people who have NOID iris would like a way to be able to search for possible matches. Is there a way that we could possibly have x-lg thumbnails for each cultivar with a photo, and for those where there is no photo a description of the iris? In addition to the photos, have a link for each cultivar? I just find it a lot quicker to glance through a bunch of photos for a possibility, rather than click on each individual cultivar's name.
With Tall Bearded iris, there are so many to go thru, I was wondering if they could be divided as to Self's, Bicolor, Bitone, Plicata, etc… and then divided further in groups of colors of standards. It is something I would be willing to work on. Holly Johnson -
Holly.Johnson.MN@gmail.com
I don't know if a word document could be retrofitted into something like this or not, but I have one already completed for the MTB's. --
HollyJohnson2017 -04-01 - 05 Nov 2020
- Identifying NOIDs is an excellent topic for the Iris Encyclopedia Holly. It would be very popular. I will copy your suggestion into the projects and contact you by email to follow-up on this. Thank you! -- WayneMesser - 06 Nov 2020