Japanese Iris
Hafsteinn Hafliðason (Wed, 23 Dec 2009 16:37:36 PST)

Iris versicolor is a hardy plant, commonly grown in gardens in Iceland
(local name: roðaíris). According to my icelandic litterature it is a
North-American species, wild distibution given to be: Labrador - Manitoba
and south to Ohio, Wisconsin and Minnesota. And I know that it grows wild in
Newfoundland as well.

This fits in with the USDA Plants Profile [
http://plants.usda.gov/java/profile/?symbol=IRVE2 ] and Flora of North
America [
http://efloras.org/florataxon.aspx/… and
distribution map at
http://efloras.org/object_page.aspx/… ]

If I can trust my memory, The Reykjavík Botanical Garden got a few
seed-collections (picked in the wild) from several different N-American
sources when I worked there about thirty or thirtyfive years ago. Most of
the seedlings survived and grew prosperously - and I think that most of the
icelandic garden examplars now are descendants of that stock.

I hope this gives you a clarity on the original distribution of Iris
versicolor; it is a native North-American plant!

Best wishes - and may you all have happy hollidays!

Hafsteinn Hafliðason,
Selfoss - Iceland.

----- Original Message -----
From: "Ina" <klazina@orcon.net.nz>
To: "Pacific Bulb Society" <pbs@lists.ibiblio.org>
Sent: Wednesday, December 23, 2009 11:08 PM
Subject: [pbs] re Japanese Iris