Years later, I learned that the different sections of Calochortus are genetically incompatible. So I tried crossing some of the Mariposas with each other, and that finally paid off with two crosses.
Here are the parents of the two crosses that worked:
Calochortus luteus, a form that grows near San Jose, CA and doesn't have an eye spot:
And probably Calochortus superbus. I received this as C. vestae, but the gland shape is wrong. This particular specimen is a beautiful magenta color:
Cross the two, and here's what you get:
MM 11-123. Calochortus luteus X superbus. This one is 11-123a:
11-123b. Looks like C. luteus, but has an eye spot.
11-123c. Kind of a pale peach color.
MM 11-150a. Calochortus superbus X luteus. Looks very similar to 11-123c.
Do these offspring represent F1s or F2s? If F1s, the diversity of flowers surprises me and indicates the parent species are very heterozygous.
ReplyDeleteGreat point, Darren! And thanks for asking -- I hadn't thought about it. These are F1 crosses. I am very sure of the background of the C. luteus, because I collected the seeds in the wild, but I wonder about the "C. superbus." It came to me from a very old and experienced Calochortus grower, who was selling bulbs at a plant sale. He had a big container of bulbs listed as C. vestae, and I picked a few at random. Given the gland shape, I assumed it was actually C. superbus, but it could just as easily be a hybrid that snuck into one of his pots or beds. Either that or it's C. superbus from a stand that has variable-colored flowers.
ReplyDeletevery pretty offspring, wonder what the f2 will look like if they are fertile. Ernie
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