Re: Re: "hybrid vigor "
Oliver T Massey CFS (massey@hal.fmhi.usf.edu)
Mon, 3 Jun 1996 09:51:58 -0400 (EDT)
>> And even more
>> clearly, it seems to me that hybrids of the upright species with
>> S. psittacina do not exhibit hybrid vigor.
> >>>
>
> Hi Tom,
> Could this be a result of the trapping devices being incompatible?
> The hybrid S.purpurea * S.psittacina seems to be a very robust
> grower while as you point out mixing these two with other species
> doesn't *seem* to work as well. After allowing a plant to become
> well established, which can take a year or two, I've seen tremendous
> growth in S.oreophila * S.purpurea much better than what S.oreophila
> is doing on it's own. Now I find this hybrid to be really displeasing,
> though. The tops of the pitchers are open so any time it rains, they
> fill up and flop over. In places where there are taller grasses or
> some other competition for light, this could be a very limiting factor
> as to how well it could do.
>
> I don't have as much experience with S.psittacina hybrids but I
> expect them to suffer similar problems as the pitchers tend to
> fall over for these crosses also. I did get S.minor * S.psitt
> last year and S.flava * S.psitt, the pitchers on the minor cross
> are upright while the flava's are set at a 50-60~ angle. I saw an
> older plant of flava * psitt and it seems to be a robust grower,
> at least in a greenhouse... It was quite a sight! It is pale
> yellow with these really long red veins going up and down the
> pitcher, the tops were almost protected 100% by the hoods. Very
> Heliamphora younger pitcher looking but the leaves were between
> 18" and two feet long!
>
> Dave Evans
>
I think you're right - two related species that have evolved distinct,
effective growth habits, while the hybrid forms an intermediate growth habit
that is not adaptive. And perhaps even more, I seem to recall that S.psitt.
and S.purp. have not been shown to have endogenous proteolytic capacity. (I may
be wrong here) This would mean that hybrids may produce a strange mix of
plants some with impaired or partial digestive capacity paired with indifferent
or incomplete capacity to capture prey. (Which begs the further question of
whether pitcher shape is important in cultivation of exogenic digestive
capacity) Has anybody ever looked at the proteolytic capacity of Sarracenia
hybrids?
Tom in Fl.