DAGLARI (Rich, 1973). OGB+ S clear light lavender; F deeper, lightly veined, large dark maroon signal, wide bronze beard. Leo's Magic X Wilkes MG5 X MG24-D: ((Imam Ahmid x Kalifa Gulnare) x (Imam Ahmid x Kalifa Gulnare)). 

DAMFINO (McAllister, R. 1998) OGB Not the long-sought-after spectrum-red, but a blend of rose, apricot, and rust that looks quite red from a distance. A small near-black signal is centered in a large burgundy spot. I'd evaluated hundreds of seedlings without finding the hoped-for pinks, when I learned one of the key breeders I'd acquired had been mislabeled - but this one was too good to destroy. A fully fertile halfbred,  from (Fourteen for Rachel x Pride of Haifa) X Unknown.

DANCING SHEIK (Danielson, 1986). OGB+/OGB S creamy white with yellow blaze, midrib veined lavender; yellow styles; F yellow with large red blaze, yellow signal veined maroon; yellow beard. Registered as an OGB+ under the old quantum system, this has proved to be a fully fertil halfbred and excellent parent. Sheik X Dee Mouse.

DARINGLY DIFFERENT (McAllister, 1993) OGB+ Pale lilac standards; whitish-lilac falls haveheavy violet veins and a velvety purple signal of the type usually associated with arils rather than arilbreds. This is presumably an unbalanced tetraploid, from Balalaika Music X Sunrise in Glory. It has produced a few seeds with tetraploid aril pollen but I'm not reporting it as fertile because none of its offspring have survived to bloom size. The pattern is definitely not conventional and, in fact, was almost named "Definitely Different".

DAWN CARESS (Peterson, 1980) OGB Esther, the Queen X Tuesday Song. Pale lilac standards; pale lilac falls with very light tan undertone. Proven very useful in the pinkish-lavender lines. Potentially valuable in work toward tangerine pinks. I recommend it highly to beginners, because it's a strong plant that makes a good "podder". 

DAWN VICTORY (Flanagan, 1984). OGB S reddish tan blend; F mahogany toned red-brown, red-black signal area around black beard; slight sweet fragrance. Honey Dove X Esther's Son. 

DEBORAH'S SONG (Hunt, 1983) OGB Esther the Queen X (Imam Salah x Beisan Aga). Red-violet standards, dark wine-red falls heavily veined even darker. Maroon beard. Small black triangular spot. Very sun-resistant dark red, surpassed only by some of its own children. If you like intense colors, try this. I recommend it highly for beginners. This was one of the first of Gene's seedlings I named, trying to follow his convention of selecting biblical names. Deborah was an Old Testament prophet, one of the charismatic leaders of early Israel. (See the fifth chapter of Judges.)

DEE MOUSE (Danielson, 1984). OGB+/OGB ((Saffron Charm x Jallah Ad-Din) x (Imam Salah x Imaret)) X Summer-Set. Ruffled, light blue standards, creamy chartreuse falls have heavy brownish-rust veining and a large, furry, black beard. Correctly registered as an OGB+ under the old quantum system, this is actually a fully functional halfbred – useful in breeding for gardenability as well as for eye-catching dark beards. 

DELICATE EMBROIDERY (McAllister, 1993) OGB+ Amethyst violet standards are veined darker; amethyst-pink falls are dotted and veined burgundy with intense stippling in a triangular area around the beard. Presumably triploid from My Joy X (I. calcaria x I. yebrudii ssp. Edgecombii). Relatively fertile for the type, but not as fully fertile as the ½-breds. I've used it with pastel, pseudo-plicata, and intricately patterned half-breds, trying to get susiana-type veining on halfbreds. The origin of the phrase is obscure – probably from one of my brainstorming sessions rather than a specific inspiration. It stayed on my list of "Names in Search of an Iris" for a long time before a flower appeared that was worthy of the name.

DESERT DIAMOND (Hager, 1987). OGB Grey-blue-white, veined deeper near charcoal beards, deep purple signal. Mohr Pretender X Cool Oasis. 

DESERT EMBROIDERY (Rogers, 1983). OGB- Aril Beauty X Blue Gate. S champagne, lightly veined burgundy; F champagne, heavily netted reddish brown, small signal of golden brown; golden brown beard; slight fragrance. 

DESERT FINERY (Rich,. 1990). OGB S. fluted and ruffled violet, veined dark purple; tan-violet style arms; F. rose-violet, evenly spaced violet veins from burgundy wine signal to edge; light yellow-orange beard. Extremely complex pedigree, involving numbered seedlings. 

DESERT FIRE (Shockey, 1975). OGB+ S warm white ground flushing to yellow-orange at margins with fine darker veins at edges. F white ground flushing to yellow-orange at margins, upper half strongly veined dark red merging to large flush area of same color on bottom half. Yellow and white beard tipped blue. Decorated Giant X Kalifa Baltis. 

DESERT FURY (Shockey, 1994). OGB Dark mulberry red, F. with very broad, diffused red black signal with dark red lower band; dark red beards; slight musky fragrance. Red Sands X 85-104-7B: (Quinta x Heart Stealer). 

DESERT MELODY (Flanagan, 1990) OGB- Vanity X (Thunderstorm x Mayfest). Light yellow standards. Medium yellow falls with faint violet flush around light orange beard. Set seeds to Joint Venture pollen in the only test I've made of its fertility, but none of the offspring survived to bloom size.

DESERT MOONLIGHT (Rich, 1990). OGB S. fluted white; bright yellow style arms; F. bright lemon yellow, henna-brown signal; yellow-orange beard. R73-59: (R69-203L, onco hybrid x Garden Gold) X R73-176H: ((R69-108A: (onco x TB) x Welcome Reward) x (Welcome Reward x RR64-23A: (onco x AB))). 

DESERT PANSY (Wight, 1990). OGB+ S iridescent purple, slightly rimmed brown; F same with black speckling at hafts; dark purple black signal; brown-yellow beard tipped purple. Ross 34V67: (‘Cythe’ x Persian Pansy) X Genetic Burst.

DESERT PLUM (Hager, 1992). OGB Smokey mauve-purple, silky texture, black maroon signal; bronze black beard. AR3498: (Syrian Moon x Rich R73-176D: (((Bagdad Beauty x Pink Formal) x Welcome Reward) x (Welcome Reward x ((Bagdad Beauty x Orchid and Flame) x Kalifa Hirfa)))) X AR3379: ((Bethlehem Song x Welcome Reward) x Moon Star). 

DESERT PRINCESS (Flanagan, 1978) OGB Esther the Queen X Desert Dove. Pink-violet with dark violet area around dark violet beard. A fully fertile ½-bred that has given me some nice things in the pinkish lines, as well as some pleasant surprises in yellow. I'm still using it in my quest for pink and recommend it highly, especially for beginners.

DESERT SHADOW (Danielson, 1982). RC Charon X Leo Clark Seedling. Brown self with darker lines, black signal; brown beard tipped yellow. 

DOMINGO (Wilson, 1997) OGB S. white, veined yellow, bright yellow midrib, F. clear bright yellow. Large circular red brown signal, Yellow beards.  

DON'T BE SHY (McAllister, 1994) OGB- Casa Vicente X Joint Venture. Greyed greenish-yellow bitone with near-black beard, large burgundy signal, and a network of rust and burgundy veining. Has steadfastly refused to mate with functional halfbreds, but did produce a few seeds with a presumed triploid. It's quite an eye-catcher, with more aril traits than most quarterbreds. The phrase had been on my list for some time, and this flower seemed like a good match for it.

DORCAS (Hunt, 1979) OGB Don Ricardo X (Imam Salah x Leo Tee). Light purple standards, darker toward the claw; violet falls are heavily veined with a large red-violet signal. Originally registered as OGB+ under the quantum system, but it is a fully functional halfbred. Recommended, both for beginners and for experimenters who want to work with arilbreds of known species origin. (Great-grandparents include I. paradoxa, I. iberica, and I. susiana.)  Gene chose this name himself so I don't know the whole story, but Dorcas was a disciple at Joppa who was known for her charitable works (Acts 9: 36-42.)

DOT'S NICE (McAllister, 1992) OGB Koko Knoll X Promise to Elizabeth. Silvery-white standards, veined yellow around rim. Yellow falls veined and dotted nutmeg around a nutmeg beard. A proven fertile halfbred – but I have nothing to report about its offspring because all of the crosses I made with it were relatively low priority when it came to allocating space in seedling beds so I gave the seeds away. "The Coronel", as most of us called Gus Seligmann, was anything but effusive so when he said of a seedling "that's nice", it was high praise indeed. This has silvery-white standards, veined yellow, and yellow falls veined and dotted nutmeg around a nutmeg beard. I was trying to fine a name that called attention to the prominent dotting, when Gus' classic comment came to mind and I couldn't resist the play on words.

DOUG GOODNIGHT (McAllister, 1992) OGB+ Persian Pansy X Rose of Sharon. Night-black self with iridescent sheen, near-black beard and velvety-black signal. Named for Region 23's former RVP. What could be more fitting? This iris has been very popular as a garden subject, but its hybridizing potential is of interest only to experimenters. Has produced nothing when used with halfbreds, and exhibits only limited fertility when paired with tetraploid arils.

DRAGONSDAWN (Wilson, 1993). OGB S. palest mauve, yellow rib and fine yellow veining; F. pale gold buff and bright rose-red blend, deepening toward black brown beard; black-brown lines radiating from beard; pronounced fragrance. Dawn Victory X Esther's Son. Listed in the Pleasure Iris Garden's 1999 catalog.

DREAM CATCHER (McAllister, 1993) OGB- Koko Knoll X Asha Michelle. A bicolor "plicata" with ivory standards and yellowish ivory falls with mulberry veining around the edges and a mulberry line in the signal area accenting a rust beard. Not tested for fertility. The netting reminded me of a "Dream Catcher", a Native American artistic weaving something like macrame. It's symbolic of a protective spirit who allows only good dreams to reach the sleeping child.

DRESDEN GOLD (Foster, 1975). OGB S pale dresden yellow, veined deeper, ruffled; F deeper dresden yellow, large solid deep mahogany brown signal surrounded by dark-brown dotting, gold sparkles on standards and falls; deep gold beard. Sib to Moon Spot X 66-28-4: (Bethlehem Star x 64-4-3). 

DRESS PINKS (McAllister, 1998) OGB- (Lovely Blanche x Eunice) X Sunrise in Glory. If you remember those Air Force uniforms from days gone by, the name says it all – not that I'm old enough myself, of course! But garden visitors with first-hand experience described the basic color of the flower as very close to that of the pinkish tan of uniforms. The flower is a near-self, but the falls are just a bit more yellow than the standards. Bushy, bright yellow beard is surrounded by burgundy stippling. Breeds like a triploid, but has shown enough fertility to give me a few promising seedlings. 

DUNSHANBE (Wilkes, 1977) RC Persian Pansy X I. korolkowii brown and green. Standards medium brown-red-violet, veined deeper with a violet flush around the midrib. Falls are slightly darker medium brown-red-violet, overlaid with iridescent violet-purple covering central area. Small dark red-purple signal at the end of a blue-white beard. Counted as a tetraploid and proven fully fertile. Essential for anyone working with the tetraploid arils, or trying to produce ¾-bred seedlings, because of the combination of its track record and low cost.