Moraea MM 12-158

Seed parent: Moraea bellendenii
Pollen parent: MM 09-04a ((atropunctata x neopavonia) X (atropunctata x neopavonia))

The parents:

This was another exciting plant for me. When I started breeding Moraeas, I didn't have any yellow ones. After several years of experimentation, I managed to get MM 09-04a. It was a beautiful little plant with a bright lemon yellow flower that didn't fade in the sun. Unfortunately, the year after it bloomed, some sort of rot got into the pot, and all the corms of it died. I was very sad (moral of the story: separate the offsets and put them in a different pot).

However, I had saved some pollen, and I crossed it with a number of other plants, including Moraea bellendenii, a yellow species I had recently obtained. These flowers, like the pollen parent, are small but bright yellow, and do not fade in the sun. Now I'm happy again.

MM 12-158a. It's a very cute cheerful flower, and sets seeds. The pollen looks OK, but I don't know yet if it worked in any of the crosses I made.

MM 12-158b. Maybe a bit paler than form a, although that could just be the lighting. Note that the style crests in the center are white instead of yellow. This form does not have viable pollen.

MM 12-158c. I'm fascinated by the dark ring on the tepals, broken by a thin yellow midvein. Rings like this show up in several bellendenii hybrids. Alas, this plant doesn't set many seeds.