getting this color into a modern bearded iris breed has proven very difficult, and thus, the vast majority of irises are in the purple and blue range of the color spectrum, with yellow, pink, orange and white breeds also available. Irises like many related genera lack red-based hues because their anthocyanins are delphinidin-derived. Pelargonidin-derived anthocyanins would lend the sought-after blue-based colors but these genera are metabolically disinclined to produce pelargonidin. Dihydroflavonol 4-reductases in Iriss relatives selectively do not catalyse dihydrokaempferol to leucopelargonidin, the precursor, and this is probably the case here as well. The other metabolic difficulty is the presence of flavonoid 3'-hydroxylase, which in Chrysanthemum inhibits pelargonidin synthesis. The bias in irises towards delphinidin-anthocyanins is so pronounced that they have served as the gene donors for transgenic attempts at the aforementioned blue roses. Although these have been technically successful over 99% of their anthocyanins are blue their growth is crippled and they have never been commercializable. AGM cultivars The following is a selection of bearded irises that have gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit: 'Alizes' (tall bearded, blue & white) 'Bumblebee Deelite' (miniature tall bearded, yellow/purple) 'Early Light' (tall bearded, pale yellow) 'Jane Phillips' (tall bearded, pale blue) 'Langport Wren' (intermediate bearded, maroon) 'Maui Moonlight' (intermediate bearded, pale yellow) 'Orinoco Flow' (border bearded, white/violet) 'Raspberry Blush' (intermediate bearded, pink) 'Sarah Taylor' (dwarf bearded, pale yellow) 'Thornbird' (tall bearded, pale yellow) 'Titan's Glory' (tall bearded, deep blue) Bearded iris Oncocyclus section This section contains the cushion irises or royal irises, a group of plants noted for their large, strongly marked flowers. Between 30 and 60 species are classified in this section, depending on the authority. Species of section Oncocyclus are generally strict endemics, typically occurring in a small number of scattered, disjunct populations, whose geographical isolation is enhanced by their pollination strategy and myrmecochory seed dispersal. Morphological divergence between populations usually follows a cline reflecting local adaptation to environment conditions; furthermore, this largely overlaps divergence between species, making it difficult to identify discrete species boundaries in these irises. Compared with other irises the cushion varieties are scantily furnished with narrow sickle-shaped leaves and the flowers are usually borne singly on the stalks; they are often very dark and in some almost blackish. The cushion irises are somewhat fastidious growers, and to be successful with them they must be planted rather shallow in very gritty well-drained soil. They