Date: Wed, 10 Sep 1997 13:38:37 -0400 (EDT) From: Ricell@aol.com To: cp@opus.hpl.hp.com Message-Id: <aabcdefg3478$foo@default> Subject: Nepenthes x williamsii (and hybridizations)
Tim Williams wrote:
> So, in case there are other ignoramuses out there in CP land as well as
me,
> perhaps you or another knowledgeable grower could post a brief (and simple)
> explanation of which (if any) Nep. hybrids CAN be propagated true via seed,
> and which cannot? Or are all hybrids going to produce different offspring
> (do they revert to the ancestor types?)
I don't consider myself an expert but I'll take a crack at explaining this.
Most natural plants are diploid - meaning they have two copies of each
chromosome (one set from the male parent and one from the female parent).
When you hybridize two species plants, the offspring will have one set of
chromosomes from the male and one set from the female. A hybrid like N x
hookeriana (N. rafflesiana x N. ampullaria) will have a N. rafflesiana copy
of each chromosome and a N. ampullaria copy of each chromosome and
consequently they will all have a similar appearance. This is called the F1
hybrid.
Now if you took a male N x hookeriana and crossed it with a female N x
hookeriana, (created the F2 hybrid) the offspring will have a somewhat random
mixture of chromosomes from what was originally N. rafflesiana and N.
ampullaria. In theory, if you raised enough F2 seedlings you should come up
with plants that are indistuinguishable between N. rafflesiana and N.
ampullaria and everything inbetween. Most, however, will be somewhere
inbetween.
Now in the case of N. x williamsii, which is not a simple cross but I believe
(gracilis x khasiana) x (rafflesiana x ampullaria), you already have quite a
jumble of genes. One should be able to repeat this same crossing and get
quite a variety of plants.
Is that clear as mud?
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