Date: Wed, 13 Dec 2000 18:45:21 -0500 From: "Dave Evans" <dpevans@rci.rutgers.edu> To: cp@opus.hpl.hp.com Message-Id: <aabcdefg3589$foo@default> Subject: Re: Sterile Nepenthes Hybrids
Dear Michael and Rob,
----- Original Message -----
>
> 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.
Well, he is saying that while some *genera* most often produce sterile
hybrids, some others produce hybrids that are nearly as fertile as the
parent species. He is *not* talking about Nepenthes, which is only one
genus, but in general about many genera of tropical plants.
> Of course, this would only be one
> reason why complex hybrids in the wild are apparently rare. The other is
the
> need for three or more parents to be located close enough for pollen
> dispersal, and the need for flowering times to be nearly identical.
I'm not sure that complex hybrids of Nepenthes are that rare, just rare
compared to the parent species and F1 hybrids. I suspect that the reason
the hybrids don't do so well is that the parent species are much more adapt
at competing in their particular niches. With Nepenthes, I don't think will
you get any sterile hybrids due to species being incompatible. Clarke is
alluding to the fact we are not a hundred percent sure yet, Nepenthes could
fall somewhere between these two extremes.
BTW, if N. cincta is really a natural cross between N. northiana and N.
albomarginata, I really, really doubt it is an F1 hybrid. I wonder what
sort of population N. cincta has in the wild, many or just a couple plants?
> It is just an odd flowering
> sequence and I was curious as to whether the pollen on this flower was
viable.
Well, hopefully your hybrid is not over doing it, flowering three times
in a row.
----- Original Message -----
>
> Hi Michael, Dave,
>
> Dave, you mention the possibility that perhaps certain species are not
> crossable. I hope that isn't the case. There goes my dream of a
> polyploidal Nepenthes rajah with Nepenthes bicalcarata teeth and Nepenthes
> hamata peristome... ;-)
I mentioned it since I have heard this remarked upon by other growers
over time. I recall a few years ago there were a bunch of e-mails of the
list server about what species and hybrids were successfully hybridized and
which were not. Some growers indicated, though, they believed those
unsuccessful pollination/seed production were because the species were
incompatible. I think, at this point, it's better to attribute failed
attempts for seed to bad luck, and for us to keep trying.
Rob, I would love to see a Nepenthes rajah * Nepenthes ampullaria. I
think in a couple years, we will be able to cut and paste genes into plants
so you will not have to wait for generations of breeding to produce your
monster!
It would be nice to gather info on what crosses don't work, but how
attempts are needed, and by how many growers, before we would be able to say
that N. x and N. y are incompatible?
Dave Evans
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