Of unidentified parentage, this cultivar was registered by Steve Chamberlain of New York in 1999. A miniature plant, it grows to 4 inches in height and a spread of 12 inches. Medium purple flowers are borne in July.

This cultivar was named after Dr. Bill Dress who retired as a professor of botany at Cornell University in 1982. The Adirondack Chapter North American Rock Garden Society notified us of his passing on December 15, 2011 at the age of 93.

They included the following information about Dr. Dress:

- Ph.D. in botany from Cornell University
- Professor at the Liberty Hyde Bailey Hortorium at Cornell
- Taught taxonomy of cultivated plants, plant nomenclature and      botanical Latin
- Served as editor of "Hortus Third: A Concise Dictionary of Plants Cultivated in the United States and Canada."
- In addition to the hosta, a fossil flower species, Dressiantha bicarpellata was named for Dr. Dress.