Moraea MM 12-139

Seed parent: Moraea 'Zoe' offspring
Pollen parent: Moraea atropunctata

The parents:

This is probably my favorite new hybrid of 2016. The pollen parent, Moraea 'Zoe,' is a form of Moraea villosa (or possibly a garden hybrid) that has white flowers covered in purple streaks. The Zoe offspring are second-generation plants, presumably garden hybrids but having many of the streaks of the named parent. I have only one or two corms that appear to be the original Zoe form, but quite a few more of the offspring, so I've been using them for breeding. This is the best result so far.

Moraea atropunctata (the pollen parent) has cream colored flowers scattered with brown spots near the center. In the cross, those dots turn purple and are much more numerous. We also pick up an orange center from M. atropunctata. I am fascinated by the multiple rings of color you see in these flowers.

These flowers appear to be fertile as both pollen and seed parents, so stay tuned for more adventures in a few years. Meanwhile, I have a lot of other Zoe crosses in the oven. We may see results from some of them as soon as 2017.

MM 12-139a 'Crazy Dots.' This was the first one to open, and I thought to myself "look at all those crazy dots." Thus the name. I like all the precise details in the center of the flower, and the way the orange color extends outward in the narrow inner tepals (I wish they were wider).

MM 12-139b 'Psycho Dots.' A few days later this flower opens, and it has even more dots on it than the first one. I also like the white ring inside the purple dots, and the light color of the style crests at the center (it makes the center of the flower look much lighter than form A). The detailing in the center isn't as nice as in form A, but overall this is one psycho flower.

MM 12-139c. A big flower with big dots and a huge almost-black eye made up of dots. This plant is very robust, with a heavy stem and large flowers. Unfortunately, it doesn't set seeds as readily as some of its siblings. 

MM 12-139d. Spectacular. Has some of the precise center of form A, and the white ring of form B. Lots of speckles covers almost all of the tepals. And check out the bit of pink color in the style crests. Not quite as robust as form C, but it's still a strong plant, and it bloomed for a long time.

MM 12-139e. In any other situation, this would be a spectacular and interesting hybrid. But unfortunately it's not as showy as its siblings.

MM 12-139f. Lots of dots on a pale purple background.

I've since had several other siblings emerge...

Here's a brief video clip of several of the flowers together. It's worth viewing full screen.