About Us

SLI is a community dedicated to preserving, promoting, cultivating, and developing Louisiana irises, both the native species and hybrid cultivars.

The Society was founded in 1941, only a few years after the introduction of these previously unknown but highly varied and beautiful irises into horticulture. Its early development was intricately linked with the discovery of the irises themselves, a fascinating and unique story.

A Beautiful Purpose

Providing growers with the best information on the garden culture of Louisiana irises
Conserving the species in the wild, protecting habitat and preserving worthy historical cultivars
Educating all about the history and cultural significance of Louisiana irises
Sponsoring public exhibitions, conferences, awards, and garden plantings
Supporting scientific research on the Louisiana iris species
Encouraging the development of new varieties and supporting commercial gardens to make them widely available
Cooperating with other organizations interested in irises

In pursuing these objectives, we work with individual growers, expert partners, environmental advocates, researchers, educators, hybridizers, commercial and steward gardens, landscapers, and the media.

Our Structure

Officers & Board Members

We are proud to be founded by and maintained by a small group of dedicated growers and collectors.

Mark Schexnayder

President

Monica Martens

Vice-President

Paul Pastorek

Recording Secretary

Diane Louw

Treasurer

Brian Shamblin

Editor

Joseph Musacchia

Past President

Our History

1

1788 – 1817

Early Recognition and Description

The first three species of Louisianairises named by botanists were Iris hexagona (1788), and Iris fulva (1812), Iris brevicaulis(1817).

1788 – 1817

2

1909 – 1925

Modern Discovery

Local iris and native plant enthusiasts in Louisiana began collecting, growing, and exchanging wild irises, including species and natural hybrids.This group developed a core knowledge of the irises that was a foundation for the later work of others.

1909 – 1925

3

1925 – 1931

Dr. Small Jumpstarts Interest

After discovering wild irises in New Orleans in 1925, the botanist Dr. John K. Small of the New York Botanical Garden returned annually until around 1931to study and collect. Dr. Small named and described over 75 new”species” and promoted them through illuminating publications and talks. Small’s work created a virtual frenzy of interest locally and in horticultural circles. It provided the impetus for extensive exploration and the plants’ modern popularity.

1925 – 1931

4

1925 – 1940

The Era of Collecting

This period began when many people, captivated by the irises, scoured wetlands looking for the next new thing. Louisiana’s wetland “hybrid zones” contained innumerable varied forms and colors of the irises, and an unorganized but dedicated group searched intensively for new ones for many years and in often inhospitable locations.

1925 – 1940

5

1935

“Species Inflation” Recognized

Percy Viosca asserted in an extensively researched paper that there were only three species in the Louisiana iris group in Southeast Louisiana and that Dr. Small was finding and naming natural hybrids and variants of the species.As a result, all but a few of Small’s species names were abandoned.The impact of his work endured, however.

1935

6

1938

A New Species Discovered

A distinctive, tall red iris, later named I. nelsonii, was discovered in a few square miles of swamp near Abbeville, LA. Its genes significantly advanced hybridized irises.

1938

7

1941

Mary Swords Debaillon Iris Society

Collectors and iris enthusiasts formed an iris society (later renamed SLI )to preserve, promote and develop the irises.

1941

8

1941 – Present

Era of Hybridizing

Gradually, hybridizing became the primary iris activity with the realization that the wild irises assembled in the Era of Collecting supported the development of remarkably beautiful, varied, and improved cultivars.

1941 – Present

9

2015 – Present

Commitment to Preservation

A renewed emphasis on preserving the genetic diversity of the wild species of Louisiana irises emerged in recent years. People had long recognized the loss of irises through the degradation of natural habitats by development and other human activities. SLI’s Species Preservation Project in 2015 created a formal means to preserve a wide range of colors and forms among the species nationwide. In Louisiana, coastal restoration and iris planting projects have been locally important.

2015 – Present

1

1788 – 1817