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Saturday, February 1, 2020

Moraea MM 16-58

Seed parent: Moraea polystachya
Pollen parent: Moraea thomasiae

Well, darn. This is the latest failure in my quest to cross M. polystachya with a plant in subgenus Vieusseuxia (the Peacock Moaraeas and their close relatives). The trouble is that M. polystachya self-pollinates very easily. For recent crosses like this one I've been emasculating the flowers and pulling off the tepals so pollinators won't visit them. But in this case it's obvious that the flower somehow self-pollinated anyway. I'll keep trying...