WARRIOR CHIEF (McAllister, 1990) OGB+ Iridescent pansy purple self with dark yellow beard and black signal patch. Presumably an unbalanced tetraploid, from Persian Pansy X Heart Stealer. No evidence of fertility in limited tests with halfbreds. Has produced a few viable seeds when crossed with the tetraploid arils, which I cultured, but none of the resultant seedlings survived to bloom size. This one really wanted to be called "Black Hawk", but that name was already taken. After pondering a lot of potential variations – including his Sauk name, Makataimeshekiakiak – and "War Chief", which was also taken, I came up with this variation.

WELCOME REWARD (Sundt-Rich, 1971) OB Lilac standards veined deeper; gold bronze falls, veined mahogany. Dark brown signal, golden brown beard. Austin W 142 (onco interspecies cross) X Pink Formal. Long-time favorite of those working toward true pinks because it carries a double dose of the t-factor. It hasn't given me any pinks, but it has produced a lot of nice things along the way. Also recommended for beginners who want to experiment with oncobreds.

WERCKMEISTER'S BEAUTY (Werckmeister, 1992) RC Lavender-grey ground with standards finely veined medium violet and falls intensely veined and dotted medium violet. Deep violet signal, orange-yellow beards. It was widely distributed as a seedling (#1916: (Teucros x I. susiana) X Bronze Beauty), along with one of its sibs. Ultimately introduced because it proved to be such a good breeder. I chose a name that would readily identify it with its hybridizer as well as reflect its pedigree. One of the sibs was counted as a triploid, one as a tetraploid. There's no way of knowing which one this was, but it certainly breeds like a tetraploid. I recommend it to anyone interested in working with the tetraploid arils, or who wants to experiment with producing ¾-breds. 

WHIRLWIND ROMANCE (McAllister, 1991). OGB+ Pewter-grey standards over brass falls. Mustard beard, tipped rust; burnt-orange signal spot. From Persian Pansy X Arab Dusk, this is without question the best parent of this type that I've found so far. It's a somewhat reluctant pod parent, but a very enthusiastic pollen parent. Crossed with half-breds, it transmits its beautiful globular form to its offspring. Some of them, in turn, have proven to be fully fertile when crossed back to halfbreds. The mixed-up-genes seem to combine favorably with a variety of partners – I have offspring in almost every color variation. I've also used it with TBs to produce what are presumed to be quarterbreds, but none of those seedlings have been as impressive as the ones it has produced when paired with halfbreds. Not yet tried with the tetraploid arils – I've been having too much fun using it with ¼-breds and ½-breds.Originally one of Gus' Seligmann's garden names, which he gave a peach ½-bred that both of us had quickly fallen in love with. Although it was registered, the stock was inadvertently destroyed before it could be introduced. I like the name so much, though, that I transferred it to a very different, but even more special, seedling that Gus had nicknamed "The Golden Bull". 

WHIRLWIND TOUR (McAllister, 1993) OGB White standards are veined golden yellow. Metallic gold falls have rust veins covering the inner half and a spot of rust at tip of the mustard and rust beard. My Joy X Whirlwind Romance. A strong grower, which tends to stay green over the summer like the ¼-breds. An enthusiastically fertile, functional halfbred, from half-bred X near-aril breeding that has already proven to be an excellent parent. Used with half-breds, it transmits its large, globular form. Crossed back to tetraploid arils, it has produced some striking patterns in lighter-than-usual tones. One of its offspring with Werckmeister's Beauty even has an emerald-green beard! Offspring of Whirlwind Romance that was in search of a name when I made a quick trip to Oklahoma that someone quipped was a "Whirlwind Tour". The phrase struck home and an iris was named.

WHISKEY MACK (Danielson, 1982). RB S heavily veined gold, violet veining on midrib with rust brown coloring next to style arms, gold edge; Stars Over Chicago X Genetic Artist. 

WHITE CHOCOLATE (McAllister, 1993) OGB Creamy white self, much like white chocolate candy, with fine dots of dark chocolate brown surrounding a dark chocolate beard. 'Nuff said to explain the name. Promises to Keep X (Esther the Queen x Tuesday Song). Fully fertile ½-bred that I'm using in further work for pastels with dark beards and signals.

WHITHER THOU GOEST (Hunt-McAllister, 1985) OGB Dusty rose-pink standards. Slightly darker falls have an iridescence formed by a faint overlay of green. ((Kalifa Baltis x Kalifa Gulnare) x Esther the Queen) X Tuesday Song. Fully fertile halfbred that is an excellent parent for both pinkish shades and pastels. The real surprise, though, is that it can throw plicata-like patterns as well. Seedlings from a cross with a white-ground plicata included a near-white self, a variegated blue-violet, and one that is visually indistinguishable from a plicata – in addition to a number of more complex patterns. This is a sib to Boaz, which I dug by mistake when I misread Gene's garden maps. If you're familiar with the story of Boaz, Naomi, and Ruth, you're familiar with the phrase and will probably agree that this name was a natural.

WILOH'S WHITE MAGIC (Wilkes-McAllister, 1992) OGB+ White standards, very pale yellow falls with a few fine rust dots at the tip of a light yellow beard.  It's presumably a triploid, from (Imam Ahmid X Kalifa Gulnare) X (W7 x I. benjaminii) – but has proven to be a relatively fertile one. It's one of my favorite candidates for breeding along the "Triploid Route" and a high percentage of the resultant seedlings have proven fertile themselves. One of the best at giving pastels with delicate dotting. Gene Hunt used it as a seedling and reported that it sometimes "throws" nice signals. I've found it if it is crossed with a flower that has a subtle signal, the offspring usually have more prominent signals because WWM enhances the contrast by suppressing other pigments. Gene originally obtained the seeds from Wiloh Wilkes, raised a number of seedlings and used this one extensively in his lines. Eventually, I introduced it because of its value as a breeder. The "White Magic" is simply what it can do as a parent.

WINE AND LILAC (Wilson, 1995). S. clear lilac, lightly veined blue at rib; F. lilac lightly flushed rose, large burgundy rose signal; wide purple violet beards; no fragrance. 28-90BBO-D: (Bionic Burst x Onlooker) X 35-890TW-D: (Onlooker x Tornado Warning). 

WISHED FOR CHILD (Hunt, 1987) OGB Pale lilac standards; grey-yellow ground of falls is overlaid rose-buff and delicately veined brownish purple. (Blue Gate x Jallah Effendi) X Tuesday Song. A fully fertile halfbred that passes its smooth, rounded form on to its children. With Whirlwind Tour, it has produced fully fertile seedlings with rounded form and onco-like veining, some of which are under consideration for introduction. It apparently carries some genes for shorter stature because it has also proven useful in working toward strong-growing, but downsized halfbreds. I obtained a number of seedlings from it by pollen from an onco hybrid of the Susiana group, using forced germination. Fortunately, a few of the best have proven to be exceptionally fertile for the type and I'm using them in my attempts to inject heavily textured dotting and veining into arilbred lines. I tried to continue Gene's practice of using Biblical names, but that often proved something of a challenge. One I considered was "Miriam", but it had already been used – when I learned that one translation of Miriam is "Wished-for Child", I felt it was most appropriate.

WITCH DOCTOR (Plough, 1955). OB Lavender-grey blend. TB seedling X Capitola. 

WORLD WIDE WEB (McAllister, 1996) OGB- White ground of the standards has mulberry-purple dotting and veining concentrated intensely around the edges. Soft yellow style arms have purple midrib and crests. The ground color of the falls, which shades from white in the throat to soft yellow on the blade, is covered with a network of mulberry-purple dots and veins. The purple-tipped-mustard beard is surrounded by intense bright purple dotting, and a linear bright purple signal. A classic ¼-bred from Rose Colored Glasses X Hindu Magic. No evidence of fertility, so far, but not tried with tetraploid arils. Its form is not quite globular, but rounded enough to show its aril heritage. The appearance of the flower itself suggested the name. I was pleasantly surprised to find that it was still available.