Ira Schreiber Nelson (1911–1965) was an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, p ...

botanist Botany, also called plant science, is the branch of natural science and biology studying plants, especially Plant anatomy, their anatomy, Plant taxonomy, taxonomy, and Plant ecology, ecology. A botanist or plant scientist is a scientist who s ...

, working in

Louisiana Louisiana ( ; ; ) is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It borders Texas to the west, Arkansas to the north, and Mississippi to the east. Of the 50 U.S. states, it ranks 31st in area and 25 ...

Career

A member of the Southwestern Louisiana Institute and

University of Southwestern Louisiana The University of Louisiana at Lafayette (UL Lafayette, University of Louisiana, ULL, or UL) is a public research university in Lafayette, Louisiana, United States. It has the largest enrollment within the nine-campus University of Louisiana Sys ...

Horticulture Departments. His interests were iris and camellias, two major flowers native to south Louisiana. He died suddenly in an automobile accident in 1965. Lowell Randolph (a

Cornell University Cornell University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university based in Ithaca, New York, United States. The university was co-founded by American philanthropist Ezra Cornell and historian and educator Andrew Dickson W ...

botany professor) had collaborated with Ira S. "Ike" Nelson since 1942, after the first show of the 'Society for Louisiana Irises' was held. They both identified a new iris from

Abbeville, Louisiana Abbeville is a city in, and the parish seat of, Vermilion Parish, Louisiana, Vermilion Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 12,257 at the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census. At the 2020 Population Estimates Program, populat ...

. Randolph named the new iris after him.

Iris nelsonii ''Iris nelsonii'' is a species in the genus ''Iris (plant), Iris'', it is also in the subgenus ''Iris subg. Limniris, Limniris'' and in the series ''Louisiana iris, hexagonae''. It is a rhizomatous perennial plant, perennial, from northern Ameri ...

was then first published and described by

Randolph Randolph may refer to: Places In the United States * Randolph, Alabama, an unincorporated community * Randolph, Arizona, a populated place * Randolph, California, a village merged into the city of Brea * Randolph, Illinois, an unincorporated com ...

in 'Baileya' (a Quarterly Journal of Horticultural Taxonomy of

Ithaca Ithaca most commonly refers to: *Homer's Ithaca, an island featured in Homer's ''Odyssey'' *Ithaca (island), an island in Greece, possibly Homer's Ithaca *Ithaca, New York, a city, and home of Cornell University and Ithaca College Ithaca, Ithaka ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

) 14: 150 in 1966.

Publications

The Influence of Hydrofuramide Upon Seed Germination and Control of Pythium in Tomatoes. Iowa State College, 1939

Awards

* 1964 American Horticultural Society Teaching AwardAmerican Horticultural Society: Winners
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References

Sources

University of Louisiana, Lafayette: Ira Schreiber Nelson CollectionHarvard University Herbarium:Ira Schreiber Nelson
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nelson, Ira Schreiber 1911 births 1965 deaths 20th-century American botanists University of Louisiana at Lafayette faculty Road incident deaths in Louisiana