1950 年成立，从怀恩格努伊起步
新西兰鸢尾学社（The New Zealand Iris Society Inc，缩写 NZIS）在 1950 年 11 月成立，首任会长是怀恩格努伊的一位女士，她当时已是新西兰最受认可的鸢尾育种者，育种工作在国内和国际上都有声誉。学社章程里写明的目标有两条：鼓励、改进并推广鸢尾属（Genus Iris）的研究与栽培，以及与其他国家的鸢尾团体协作，共同规范鸢尾的命名法、分类和登记。学社创刊号《Bulletin》在 1950 年 3 月出版，里面收了一首会员写的诗《Ode to a Catalogue》，写的是翻苗木目录时忍不住想把每一个品种都买下来的心思——这类记录学社一直保留着。
鸢尾属与有髯鸢尾
鸢尾属归在鸢尾科（Iridaceae）之下，属名取自希腊神话中赫拉女神的彩虹信使伊里斯，在希腊语里「iris」本身就是彩虹的意思。这是一个大属，含若干亚属，其中有髯鸢尾（bearded iris，又称 pogon iris）是最受欢迎、栽培最普遍的一类。学社的资料里提到，多数人入门都是从高型有髯鸢尾（Tall Bearded Iris）开始的：这一类几乎覆盖了所有色系，唯独缺少真正的红色和绿色，而围绕这两种颜色的育种尝试已经持续了八十来年，至今还在继续。学社的关注范围并不限于高型有髯类，其他各亚属同样在讨论和出版内容里。
十二个地方小组与全国年会
学社目前在北岛设有中北部、奥克兰、怀卡托、丰盛湾、吉斯伯恩、霍克斯湾和朗伊蒂凯 7 个小组，南岛设有纳尔逊、基督城、南坎特伯雷、奥塔哥和中奥塔哥 5 个小组，共 12 个在运作的地方小组；另有北塔拉纳基、怀拉拉帕、惠灵顿和南地 4 个处于休会状态，学社在站上公开征集有意愿重启这些小组的人。各地小组全年办非正式聚会，例如奥克兰小组固定在每月第四个周日集会。全国层面每年 10 月底至 11 月初办一次年会（Convention）兼会员大会，管理委员会在这个时间改选，会期内安排讲习和本地花园参访，主办权由当地小组轮流承担。2026 年的全国年会由中奥塔哥小组承办，11 月 6 日至 9 日在亚历山德拉的社区活动中心举行，早鸟报名费每人 240 新元，含四天的部分餐食与花园门票，报名截止 9 月 14 日，逾期加收 50 新元，10 月 12 日之后不再受理。学社请参会会员各带两株植物供现场销售台使用。
会刊、登记与种子交换
《Bulletin》从学社成立起一直出版到今天，每年三期，早期是黑白印刷，现在用彩色和数字摄影呈现品种照片，内容涵盖国内外的鸢尾动态。学社另设一套鸢尾登记流程，站上提供长表和短表两种可在线填写的登记表格，填好后交给学社的登记员并向学社账户缴费；配套的 NZIRIS 登记数据库放在会员区。种子交换（Seed Pool）按季节开放，闭池期间学社请会员留好种子、贴清标签，寄给设在中北部小组的种子分发人。会刊往期、种子交换和登记数据库都属于会员权限内容，非会员访问会看到会员专享提示。
七档会员与《Why Irises》
学社设七档会员，全部以新西兰元计价，会籍统一在 6 月 30 日到期。电子会员每年 25 新元，可看站上的免费会员内容和最新出版物，但没有学社职位选举投票权；普通会员 45 新元起，除全站权限外还会收到纸质《Bulletin》，并可参与学社职员的选举；普通会员加家庭成员一档 60 至 65 新元，允许一位同住的家属共用权益，海外会员另有对应档位。缴费可走 PayPal 或网上银行转账，走银行转账的会籍在款项到账后尽快激活，会籍到期前十天学社会发提醒邮件。出版方面，一位长期研究鸢尾的资深会员在 2023 年出版了《Why Irises》，由学社成员担任编辑和摄影，内容不限于高型有髯类，而是覆盖整个鸢尾属，售价每册 35 新元另加运费，新西兰境内运费 10.80 新元，澳大利亚 22 新元，美国 40 新元，欧洲 35 新元，属限量印刷，售完为止。
Founded in 1950
The New Zealand Iris Society Inc (NZIS) was formed in November 1950. Its first president, from Wanganui, was already the country’s most notable iris breeder of the day, with a breeding programme respected both at home and overseas. The society’s stated objective has two halves: to encourage, improve and extend the study and cultivation of the genus Iris, and to collaborate with iris societies in other countries in regulating the nomenclature, classification and registration of irises. Bulletin Number 1 appeared in March 1950 and carried a member’s poem, “Ode to a Catalogue”, about the temptation of a nursery list and the wish to order every variety on it — the kind of record the society has kept ever since.
The Genus Iris and the Bearded Group
The genus Iris sits within the family Iridaceae and takes its name from Iris, the rainbow messenger of the Greek goddess Hera; in Greek the word itself means rainbow. It is a large genus with several sub-genera, of which the bearded or pogon irises are the most popular and the most frequently grown. As the society’s own material puts it, most people begin with the Tall Bearded Iris, which comes in every hue except a true red and a true green — and the search to perfect those two colours has been running for some eighty years and continues today. The society’s interests are not confined to the tall bearded group; the other sub-genera appear just as often in its discussions and publications.
Twelve Local Groups and the Annual Convention
Seven groups operate in the North Island — Mid North, Auckland, Waikato, Bay of Plenty, Gisborne, Hawkes Bay and Rangitikei — and five in the South Island: Nelson, Christchurch, South Canterbury, Otago and Central Otago, giving twelve active groups. Four more, in North Taranaki, Wairarapa, Wellington and Southland, are in recess, and the society openly invites anyone in those areas willing to restart them. Groups hold informal meetings through the year; the Auckland group, for instance, meets on the fourth Sunday of each month. Nationally the society runs an annual convention and AGM in late October or early November, when the management committee is appointed, with workshops and visits to local gardens, hosted in turn by the group in that area. The 2026 national convention is hosted by the Central Otago group and runs from 6 to 9 November at the community house in Alexandra. Early-bird registration is NZ$240 per person and covers part of the catering and garden entries across the four days. Registrations close on 14 September, with a NZ$50 late fee after that and nothing accepted after 12 October. Members attending are asked to bring two plants each for the sales table.
Bulletin, Registration and Seed Pool
The Bulletin has been published continuously since the society’s inception and now appears three times a year. Early issues were black and white; colour and digital photography have since made it possible to show varieties properly, and the content covers iris news from New Zealand and abroad. The society also runs an iris registration process: long and short registration forms can be filled in online, then sent to the society’s registrar with the fee paid into the society account, and the companion NZIRIS registration database sits in the members area. The seed pool opens seasonally; while it is closed, members are asked to save seed, label it clearly and post it to the seed pool distributor attached to the Mid North group. Back issues of the Bulletin, the seed pool and the registration database are all member-only, and non-members reach a members-only notice instead.
Seven Membership Levels and Why Irises
Seven membership levels are offered, all priced in New Zealand dollars and all expiring on 30 June. E-membership costs NZ$25 a year and gives unlimited access to free membership content and the latest publications on the site, but no vote on society positions. Full membership starts at NZ$45 and adds a printed copy of the Bulletin plus a say in choosing the society’s officers. A full-plus-family level at NZ$60 to NZ$65 extends the benefits to one nominated family member living permanently at the same address, and equivalent levels exist for overseas members. Payment goes through PayPal or internet banking; bank transfers are activated as soon as the payment clears, and a reminder email goes out ten days before a subscription falls due. On the publishing side, a long-standing member with decades of growing experience released Why Irises in 2023, edited and photographed by fellow members and covering the whole genus rather than only the tall bearded varieties. It sells for NZ$35 a copy plus postage — NZ$10.80 within New Zealand, NZ$22 to Australia, NZ$40 to the United States and NZ$35 to Europe — as a limited edition, dispatched in the order payments arrive.
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