The American Iris Society (AIS) is the official world registry of non-bulbous iris. Each iris variety is first “registered” with the AIS and can then later be “introduced”. An iris is considered “registered” when the application is accepted and approved by the AIS Registrar. Following this, when an iris is offered for sale to the general public and when proof of that is submitted to the AIS Registrar it would then be considered “introduced”. The date/year of Registration and Introduction are usually different. Irises must be introduced before they are eligible for recognition in the AIS award system. Recognition in the AIS award system acknowledges that the so recognized iris has many of the desired characteristics of a distinctive and desirable garden plant.
Iris Registrations
As the official register of non-bulbous iris The American Iris Society maintains a database or “registry” of all registered and introduced iris. This fully searchable registry is available on-line to AIS members with full or eMember permissions at: https://register.irises.org/. The AIS publishes this registry in a print volume by decade, called the “Iris Checklist”, and an annual publication of “Registrations and Introductions” (R&I) these volumes are available for purchase from the AIS store. Non-member visitors can use the publicly available AIS Encyclopedia to search for information on various iris cultivars.
Iris Check Lists
The AIS Registrar is the world wide registration authority for cultivated non-bulbous irises. The governing standard is the International Code of Nomenclature for Cultivated Plants (ICNCP or Cultivated Plant Code) as adopted by the International Union of Biological Sciences International Commission for the Nomenclature of Cultivated Plants.
Annually the AIS Registrar publishes a booklet titled “Registrations and Introductions” (R&I) that contains the names and descriptions of all irises registered and/or introduced that year. Aside from other reasons for having it, this publication satisfies the requirements of the ICNCP.
In 1929 the first hardbound Check List was published by the Americam Iris Society and the issuance of a new Check List every ten years has become a tradition. Beginning with the 1949 Check List, each ten-year book incorporates the information contained in the Registrations and Introductions for that decade. Some descripitons are reworded or reformatted slightly for clarity and consistency. Minor typographical corrections are made and if additional parental information has been made available, parentages are augmented or restated. Some registrations appearing in annual reports may be deleted if the hybridizer has stated that no stock was distributed, stock of the plant destroyed, and the name does not appear in later breeding records. When discrepancies appear between what was printed in an R&I and what appears in the Check List, the Check List entries should be presumed to be more accurate.
Registering Irises
Hybridizers who wish to register their irises can follow the procedures outlined in the “How To Register An Iris” page.
The fee to register or reserve a name is $15.00 for North American registrants.
Registration fees from hybridizers outside the U.S. or fees to reserve a name vary; please contact the Associate Registrar in your country (listed below) for more information about applications and fees.
If you do not know who the Associate Registrar for your country is or if your country does not have an Associate Registrar, please contact Janis Shackelford at:
Registrar-Recorder
Janis Shackelford
PO Box 21827
El Cajon, CA 92021
Phone: (619) 561-6323 | Email: aisregistrar@irises.org