Date: Tue, 12 Dec 2000 12:35:46 EST From: MCATALANI@aol.com To: cp@opus.hpl.hp.com Message-Id: <aabcdefg3567$foo@default> Subject: Re: Sterile Nepenthes Hybrids
<< Anyway, I was wondering about this quote from you web-page:
"The plant produced a male flower, and I used the pollen to fertilize a
female red ventricosa. I wanted to determine if the pollen from this flower
was viable, unviable, or possibly the plant is sterile. (Some Nepenthes
hybrids, especially in the wild, are sterile. This is one reason why complex
hybrids in the wild are rare.) The female ventricosa ovaries appear to be
expanding, so it looks like fertilization has occurred. It will be a few
more months before I know for sure."
What Nepenthes hybrids are sterile? Dave Evans>>
Hey Dave,
Part of this quote came from Charles Clarke's Nepenthes of Borneo. On page
146 he stated that "Hybrid offspring of some genera are sterile, but in
others the fertility levels may be similar to those of the parent species."
He doesn't list which hybrids are sterile, or which parents are known to
produce sterile hybrids. I also can't tell if he was referring to plants in
the wild, cultivated plants, or both. Of course, this would only be one
reason why complex hybrids in the wild are apparantly rare. The other is the
need for three or more parents to be located cloes enough for pollen
dispersal, and the need for flowering times to be nearly identical.
This particular hybrid should not be sterile (I believe I know of complex
crosses which used this hybrid) Whether or not the pollen is viable is
another thing. The pollen from this flower may not be viable, but subsequent
flowers when the plant is more mature could be. The leaves immediately above
the first flower stem are still producing lower pitchers, although they have
not yet developed. The stem does look different after the first flower, and
does appear to be shifting into climbing mode. It is just an odd flowering
sequence and I was curious as to whether the pollen on this flower was viable.
Michael Catalani
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