{\rtf1\ansi\ansicpg1252\deff0\deflang1033\deftab708{\fonttbl{\f0\froman\fcharset0 Times New Roman;}} {\*\generator Msftedit 5.41.15.1507;}\viewkind4\uc1\pard\qc\f0\fs22 Progress report\par on the work done by myself and my assistances\par over the period from April 2004 to April 2005\par \pard\par \pard\qc Publications\par \pard\qj\par \pard\fi567\qj 1. Ophioiris, a new genus of the family Iridaceae // Botanicheskii Zhurnal. 2004. Vol. 89, No. 8. P. 1359\endash 1361 (Russ.)\par 2. On the independence of the genus Xiridion // Botanicheskii Zhurnal. 2005. Vol. 90, No. 1. P. 55\endash 59 (Russ.)\par \par \par \par For the period under review, an article \ldblquote Irises: origin, evolution, taxonomy. Part 2. Bearded-cristate irises\rdblquote and the paper \ldblquote Life of seed\rdblquote were written.\par When working on the article, I came to a conclusion, that bearded irises should be subdivided into 2 groups. One group is to be made up of species with seed capsules dehiscing by three valves, and seeds without an appendage (aril). In my new system , they will be included in the type subgenus Iris. Let us refer to them provisionally as Pogon Irises. Bearded irises with thin-walled capsules dehiscing by lateral fissures, and seeds bearing aril, will be included in the subgenus Ariloides.\par The analysis of historical migrations made by the bearded irises, allowed to propose a hypothesis on the existence of two cradles of these irises: an ancient in the West Asia, and a recent in Europe and Asia Minor. The most interesting results were obtained from the analysis of the past of the arilloid group of the irises. Under extreme conditions of life, their rhizomes turned into a miniature corm, and with this the roots came to the aid of the rhizomes and performed the part of storehouses for nutrients and water. Any similar evolutionary changes are not found in the species of Pogon group.\par The hypothesis of a relation between a great diversity of infraspecific forms of Oncocyclus irises and their being one-flowered in proposed in the article.\par My acquaintance with evolutionary regularities elucidated in the article allowed me to appreciate the true significance of dissemination strategies in the life of species. These strategies depend first of all on the structure of the seedcoat. It was hard to suggest, that such a tiny element as the seedcoat can in some cases to decide the fate of a species, its prosperity or extinction.\par The award of funds for the past year has been essential. My personal thanks and appreciation cannot be measured, but without this support the research may have failed or been lost totally. The support of the AIS Foundation as well as personal support from various AIS members has made all this possible and encourages the continuation of this work. When critically analyzing the contents of my papers already sent to you, I came to a thought, that the section \ldblquote Taxonomy\rdblquote in our main work devoted to the origin, evolution and taxonomy of the irises, needs refinement. I must made a new system of the genus Iris in two versions. The first, a popular one, should be apprehensible to every AIS member. The second version is to be published in \ldblquote Botanicheskii Zhurnal\rdblquote and to meet all taxonomic requirements.\par The irisarians which deal with interspecific hybridization, but not in the secrets of taxonomy, certainly face with difficulties in their work. The popular version of the new system will be able to facilitate this work.\par Both time and success of recent years lead us to acceleration of works on remote hybridization. As the genus Iris is by now divided into 14 genera, I intend to start on a difficult but needful article \ldblquote The constellation of Iris genera\rdblquote . The information to be included in the article should be a reliable foundation of remote intergeneric hybridization. A bright example of possibilities of such a hybridization is the work of L. Lenz, who has given us an intergeneric hybrid, Pardancanda norrisii. The splendid work of a Berlin selectionist T. Tamberg confirms the fruitfulness of works in this direction.\par This makes me ask for continuation of the grant for a further year: from April 2005 to April 2006. I look to you for the support of my work programme, which, hopefully, will become a worthy conclusion of my investigation supported by AIS.\par \par Respectfully yours,\par \par Prof. G. Rodionenko\par }