On Jul 20, 2006, at 5:58 PM, Jim McKenney wrote: > The last time I ordered Spanish irises I received English irises, Iris > latifolia, (the plant long known as Iris xiphioides). On Jul 22, 2006, at 8:29 AM, Jim McKenney wrote: > An old group name is available: Xiphion. But that term invites > confusion > with "xiphium". > > How about "Xiphions: the western Mediterranean bulbous irises"? On Jul 22, 2006, at 8:38 AM, James Waddick wrote: > The better title should be "Xiphium Iris" because it includes > the species and the 3 horticultural groups and species who grow > beyond the political boundaries of Spain proper. It could be cross > referenced to include the 3 horticultural groups. On Jul 22, 2006, at 9:29 AM, jlubelover@telus.net wrote: > To recap: > > I. xiphium = Spanish iris > I. latifolia = I. xiphioides = English iris > hybrids within the xiphion group = Dutch iris. Not knowing much about Iris species and group names, but having seen the "Spanish," "English," and "Dutch" Irises offered in catalogs over the years, I've learned quite a bit from this and earlier discussions about this group of irises. (And in fact, a bunch of ordinary blue, yellow, and white Dutch Iris I planted in my mother's garden more than 25 years ago in central Texas has thrived and increased and blooms every year in early spring. I've sent her some of the more striking new varieties that have appeared since then to add to her collection.) So, if I were looking to learn more from what I generally had picked up from catalogs and the local nurseries, and based on the above excerpted comments, this is what would be for me the most useful way to subdivide and title the wiki for this group: I'd call the separate page "Spanish, English, and Dutch (Xiphium group) Irises". (The Xiphium in parentheses could be instead Xiphion as suggested above. I don't see a big bottom-line difference between the two.) Then put in three dividing lines with subsection titles on that page for Spanish, English, and Dutch Irises. And then put the various species, horticultural groups, and hybrids in their proper subgroup sections. Also, put in Jim W's (and jlubelover's) succinct summary version of each the three after each subsection heading. (Also, including Jim McK's and jlubelover's mention of the common synonym species name for the English Irises [I. xiphioides], since I had seen that one a number of times over the years.) Mary Sue already has a dividing line separating the Spanish and the Dutch Irises on the "Spanish" Iris page. In the description at the top of the page we could put in a summary of the main comments and concerns that have been expressed about this group of irises because I think this would be useful to the newly interested grower-to-be that might be using the wiki to help them out in understanding this group. If no one else volunteers, I'll make these changes to the wiki. But I won't have time to re-do and refine and edit the first cut. Others could do that since it's always easier to edit or change something that is already there than it is to put the words there in the first place. --Lee Poulsen Pasadena, California, USA, USDA Zone 10a