I know this will upset some folks...but, here goes....No database....Cubits, NGA , AIS, HIPS....whatever, is 100% correct....and despite the work of a lot of well intentioned people, never WILL be "100%". So, when I "look" for any information...I look EVERYWHERE ! Then, you have the option of saying to yourself, " Three sources say it IS, and one source says it ISN"T....and asking yourself "who do I believe?" Many of these databases rely on "shared" information, as well as "shared" pictures....so if the "first one " is used as a source for the second....and the first one is in error ? IMHO, there are VERY few iris with a 100% guarantee of being correct....it takes an unbroken chain of "paper trail", as well as having been "well grown, and tended", ever since the time of introduction, and those criteria are pretty rare !
So, bottom line.........read the AIS description (pretty sparse as to detail on the older cultivars), .....understand what the "symbols "mean, and what the "color codes" are telling you, .....read every old catalog description you can find, .....if you can find them, study the old issues of the AIS bulletin (they are online for e members)both for the "informative" articles, and the "varietal comments", and even the advertisements from the various hybridizers,.....study the various vendor's sites, not only to see "what's available", but see what their "provenonce"is for the iris they offer....some, like Superstition, have theirs "checked" by experts in the field of "iris ID"....you will soon be able to find those that, obviously, get their "stock" from another vendor.....the same pictures, descriptions, and often , mistakes will show up in multiple places,.....NEVER assume an ID by pictures alone ! No matter HOW many picture there are !, ....and remember that "mistakes happen , even in the best of families", so, prepare to have the occasional disappointment, prepare to hunt for, trade for, or purchase a LOT of test plants, prepare for a LOT of "library work", and, most importantly, prepare yourself for a long, long, journey, that at the end, is likely to be "futile", as far as a "name" goes, and, even in the "best case " outcome, will only give you with what everyone agrees is "probably" a correct ID. We all need to learn that that old ,purple iris that came from Grandma's place....the one with falls like the ears on a hound dog, is just as pretty, smells just as sweet, and is just as important in the great scheme of things, as a NOID, as it would if it had a "real" name ! So, enjoy the search, never assume anything, prepare to have disappointments along the way, and remember that it's all really supposed to be fun !!
