Contributed by the Louisiana Iris Conservation Initiative.
The Friends of Palmetto Island State Park, the Greater New Orleans Iris Society (GNOIS), and the Louisiana Iris Conservation Initiative (LICI) recently joined forces to support local Abbeville Red iris enthusiast Kent Benton in his ongoing efforts to propagate this rare and beautiful iris for the restoration project at Palmetto Island State Park in Vermilion Parish.
LICI coordinated the donations and then purchased supplies for Kent’s noncommercial Abbeville Red iris nursery, including a large delivery of potting soil and a shipment of wide-rimmed 9” x 6” Mum Pots—delivered to Kent’s Livingston Parish property last month.
For those unfamiliar, the Abbeville Red iris is the Iris nelsonii, the rarest species of Louisiana iris, whose only native habitat is in Vermilion Parish. Kent, a lifelong Louisiana iris aficionado, has been working for years to preserve this species using plants originally collected from the Abbeville Swamp years ago by others. He’s developed an innovative “Close Capture Method” of pollination, ensuring pure I. nelsonii seeds by carefully hand-pollinating blooms and sealing them off to prevent cross-pollination by bees or hummingbirds. (This unique method was recently featured in the Society for Louisiana Irises triennial magazine!)
Kent’s contributions to the Palmetto Island State Park boardwalk swamp restoration project have been incredible. In 2023, he donated hundreds of I. nelsonii seedlings for LICI to grow out, and every year since, he has continued to provide mature plants for direct planting by LICI volunteers.
Together, Kent’s plants and LICI’s own seedlings—grown from seeds collected in the Abbeville Swamp—are helping to rebuild wild populations of I. nelsonii. The goal is to restore these irises in both Palmetto Island State Park and their original native habitat, where their numbers have drastically declined over the decades.
A heartfelt thank you to the Friends of Palmetto Island State Park and the Greater New Orleans Iris Society for helping us support Kent’s vital work to preserve this remarkable Louisiana iris species!
