Moraea MM 21-381

Seed parent: MM 18-235a ((M. bellendenii x neopavonia) X villosa o)

Pollen parent: MM 15-122h (atropunctata x longiaristata form a with blue spots)

These flowers look nondescript, but they're actually very unusual. There's no eye, just a yellow blaze that extends into the center of the flower. If you click through to the parents, you'll see that both of them have unusual looks as well. I feel like this color pattern has a lot of possibilities.

MM 21-381a. 

Moraea MM 21-374

Seed parent: MM 18-52 ((M. bellendenii x aristata) X tulbaghensis)

Pollen parent: Unknown (maybe selfed)

MM 21-374a. I caught this one just as it was closing up. It looks a lot like the seed parent.

Moraea MM 21-343

Seed parent: MM 18-21e ((M. aristata x villosa) x bellendenii) X (villosa x (atropunctata x neopavonia))

Pollen parent: MM 18-16a ((aristata x villosa) x bellendeni) X ((villosa x tulbaghensis) x villosa d)

I crossed two flowers with pretty multicolored eyes, and got a plant with a nice multicolored eye.

MM 21-343a. Check out the cool yellow-green-black eye.

The tepals fade as they age...

Moraea MM 21-325

Seed parent: MM 18-334b ((M. villosa x tulbaghensis) x villosa d) X ((villosa x tulbaghensis) x villosa d)

Pollen parent: MM 18-234a (bellendenii x (gigandra x (atropunctata x neopavonia)) X ((villosa x tulbaghensis) x (villosa x tulbaghensis))

MM 21-325a. Bummer. I crossed a raspberry-colored flower with a brick red one hoping for some sort of saturated red color. Instead, it reverted to mauvey orange. It's a nice flower, but not what I was hoping for.

Moraea MM 21-324

Seed parent: MM 18-09 M. bellendenii X ((aristata x (neopavonia x atropunctata)) x ((neopavonia x atropunctata) x (aristata x (neopavonia x atropunctata))))

Pollen parent: MM 18-09 

MM 21-324a. Looks a lot like the parents.

Moraea MM 21-306

Seed parent: MM 13-137c (M. tripetala x calcicola)

Pollen parent: MM 18-312a ((atropunctata x calcicola) x (villosa x tulbaghensis)) X ((villosa x tulbaghensis) x villosa form d)

MM 21-306a. Rich purple color and lots of speckles around the eyes. Nice!

MM 21-306b

Moraea MM 21-294

Seed parent: MM 18-56 (M. tripetala x bellendenii) X ((villosa x tulbaghensis) x villosa)

Pollen parent: MM 18-59a (('Zoe' x neopavonia) x (villosa x tulbaghensis)) X tulbaghensis

MM 21-294a

A sibling. I think the split in the tepals is a one-time oddity, not a continuing characteristic.

Moraea MM 21-291

Seed parent: MM 18-161a (M. tripetala x bellendenii) X villosa

Pollen parent: MM 16-85a (aristata x gigandra) X (villosa x tulbaghensis)

The pollen parent is one of my largest hybrids. By breeding it with a flower that has unusual color patterns, I was hoping to get big flowers with unusual colors. But instead I got normal sized flowers with bland colors (although the dark green eyes are a bit interesting). 

So it goes!

Moraea MM 21-286

Seed parent: MM 12-118c (M. villosa X bellendenii)

Pollen parent: MM 18-344b (villosa X ((aristata x villosa) x neopavonia 'Sunrise')

MM 18-286a. The colors aren'y spectacular, but I like the unusual rings of color in the eye.

Moraea MM 21-283

Seed parent: MM 18-66 (M. bellendenii x aristata) X villosa

Pollen parent: MM 10-16d (neopavonia x atropunctata) X gigandra

MM 21-283a

Siblings...

Moraea MM 21-280

Seed parent: MM 18-62 (M. bellendenii x aristata) X ((aristata x villosa) x neopavonia)

Pollen parent: MM 15-89a (villosa x tulbaghensis) X villosa

The pollen parent is one of my favorite hybrids, with speckles and a bright blue eye. I crossed it with a yellow flower, hoping for offspring with spotted yellow flowers and big blue eyes. Instead, the yellow parent totally dominated.

MM 21-280a

Here's a sibling with wider eyes.

Moraea MM 21-273

Seed parent: MM 13-137c (M. tripetala X calcicola)

Pollen parent: MM 18-234a (M. bellendenii x (gigandra x (atropunctata x neopavonia))) X ((villosa x tulbaghensis) x (villosa x tulbaghensis))

This cross combined a brick red flower with a pale purple flower that sometimes induces veins and spots in its offspring. I'm not sure if the result is what I expected, but it's an interesting flower with its blotchy dashes around the eye.

Moraea MM 21-271

Seed parent: Moraea villosa F

Pollen parent: MM 13-41a 'Bonnie' (villosa B X villosa H)

This is basically a villosa species cross, but involving several colors of flower. I was hoping for a flower with the white tepals of the seed parent combined with the beautiful blue eye of the pollen parent. As often happens, I got the exact opposite. Oh well.

MM 21-171a. I admire the nice uniform leopard spots in the central cup, but they make me wonder because neither parent has a spotted cup. Among the species I breed with, only M. neopavonia and M. tulbaghensis generally have this sort of dot pattern. So I wonder if maybe the rain washed this seed over from a nearby location. 

Moraea MM 21-270

Seed parent: MM 18-34b (M. tripetala x bellendenii) X ((villosa x tulbaghensis) x villosa d)

Pollen parent: MM 18-34a (M. tripetala x bellendenii) X ((villosa x tulbaghensis) x villosa d)

MM 21-270a. I like this one. It's not spectacular, but I like the color contrasts and the precision of the markings. The parents both have that little window of color in the eye (something caused by M. bellendenii), but it is more prominent in their child.

Moraea MM 21-267

Seed parent: MM 17-10a (M. tripetala x calcicola) X ('Zoe' offspring x calcicola)

Pollen parent: MM 18-91b (bellendenii x aristata) X ((atropunctata x calcicola) x (villosa x tulbaghensis))

MM 21-267a. I am very happy about this cross, for a couple of reasons. First, it is a very cool looking flower. I like the intensely dense purple spots changing from large in the center to smaller further out on the tepal. I also like the contrasting orange color of the small inner tepals, and the yellow blaze in the center. It's all very interesting.

Second, I am pleased by the way the genetics worked. The seed parent is a purpley spotted flower, and the pollen parent is an orangey spotted flower. This is exactly the sort of flower I was hoping for from their offspring. So once in a while genetics seems to work predictably.

Moraea MM 21-261

Seed parent: MM 18-56a (M. tripetala x bellendenii) X ((villosa x tulbaghensis) x villosa d)

Pollen parent: MM 15-60a (villosa x tulbaghensis) X (villosa x tulbaghensis)

MM 21-261a. Two speckled flowers were crossed, and they produced a very nicely speckled offspring. I wish the colors were more vibrant, but still this is a nice flower.

Moraea MM 21-246

Seed parent: MM 17-10a (M. tripetala x calcicola) X ('Zoe' offspring x atropunctata)

Pollen parent: MM 15-60a (villosa x tulbaghensis) x (villosa x tulbaghensis)

Hmmmm, this is a cross between two spotted hybrids, which I would expect to produce a spotted flower. Also, the flower looks a lot like a hybrid with M. neopavonia, which is not in the ancestry of this cross. So I wonder if maybe it's a stray seed.

Moraea MM 21-239

Seed parent: MM 18-91a (M. bellendenii x aristata) X ((atropunctata x calcicola) x (villosa x tulbaghensis))

Pollen parent: MM 18-333a ((villosa x tulbaghensis) x villosa form d) X (tulbaghensis x villosa form h)

These flowers look a lot like MM 21-236, and I suspect they are actually stray seedlings from that cross.

Moraea MM 21-236

Seed parent: MM 18-64a (M. bellendenii x aristata) X atropunctata

Pollen parent: MM 18-21d ((aristata x villosa) x bellendenii) X ((villosa x (atropunctata x neopavonia))

Very interesting color pattern in the eyes.

Moraea MM 21-231

Seed parent: MM 18-88 (probably M. bellendenii)

Pollen parent: M. longiaristata form b

This is one of only a few successful crosses I've had with this form of M. longiaristata. The flowers in this case look like a pale orange form of longiaristata.

MM 21-231a

MM 21-231ab

Moraea MM 21-228

Seed parent: MM 17-10a (M. tripetala x calcicola) X 'Zoe' offspring x atropunctata)

Pollen parent: MM 18-234a (bellendenii x (gigandra x (atropunctata x neopavonia))) X ((villosa x tulbaghensis) x (villosa x tulbaghensis))

I crossed a spotted flower with a reddish one, hoping for a spotted red flower. It hasn't happened yet, but the flowers are still interesting.

MM 21-228a

Here's a sibling.

Moraea MM 21-227

Seed parent: MM 18-67 (M. bellendenii x aristata) X (villosa f x (((atropunctata x neopavonia) x villosa c) x (atropunctata x neopavonia))

Pollen parent: MM 18-334b ((villosa x tulbaghensis) x villosa d) X ((villosa x tulbaghensis) x villosa d)

Moraea MM 21-224

Seed parent: MM 18-37 (M. bellendenii x aristata) X ((villosa x tulbaghensis) x villosa)

Pollen parent: Unknown (open pollinated)

Judging from their looks, these are probably self-pollinated.

MM 21-224a

MM 21-224b

Moraea MM 21-203

Seed parent: MM 18-62 (M. bellendenii x aristata) X ((aristata x villosa) x neopavonia 'sunrise')

Pollen parent: MM 13-77b (villosa x tulbaghensis) X (villosa x tulbaghensis)

A cross between a mauve-red flower and a yellow flower, hoping for brighter red. Nope.

Moraea MM 21-195

Seed parent: MM 17-10a (M. tripetala x calcicola) X ('Zoe' offspring x atropunctata)

Pollen parent: MM 18-91b (M. bellendenii x aristata) X ((atropunctata x calcicola) x (villosa x tulbaghensis))

I crossed two heavily spotted flowers and got more spots. Nice!

MM 21-195a. Note the closely spaced spots at the outer edge of the tepals. They almost create a picotee effect.

Moraea MM 21-194

Seed parent: MM 18-97 (M. lurida x villosa form h) X ((villosa x tulbaghensis) x (villosa x tulbaghensis))

Pollen parent: MM 14-146d (villosa x tulbaghensis) X villosa form d

MM 21-194a

Moraea MM 21-182

Seed parent: Moraea villosa form f

Pollen parent: Moraea GK 1507a (M. villosa selection)

MM 21-182a 

Moraea MM 21-181

Seed parent: MM 18-316a (M. neopavonia 'Summerfield' X villosa form o)

Pollen parent: MM 13-45a (atropunctata x calcicola) X villosa form d

MM 21-181a. Nice flower, but neither parent has spots, so I suspect this might be a chance seed that washed in from a nearby hybrid.

Moraea MM 21-177

Seed parent: MM 18-91a (M. bellendenii x aristata) X (atropunctata x calcicola) X (villosa x tulbaghensis)

Pollen parent: MM 15-89b ((villosa x tulbaghensis) X villosa)

This cross combined two spotted flowers, one pale orange and the other yellow.

MM 21-177a. Very nice. I like the hypnotic dot pattern and orange blaze. I wish the eyes were blue.

Moraea MM 21-170

Seed parent: MM 18-329c  (M. loubseri x ((atropunctata x neopavonia) x (atropunctata x calcicola))) X villosa form o

Pollen parent: MM 18-62a (bellendenii x aristata) X ((aristata x villosa) x neopavonia 'sunrise')

I crossed a deep purple flower with a butter yellow one, wondering what would happen. So far I'm not sure what to make of it.

MM 21-170a. This one looks a lot like the pollen parent.

MM 21-170b. I don't know where the orange came from.

Moraea MM 21-168

Seed parent: MM 15-24 (M. bellendenii X villosa form d)

Pollen parent: MM 15-24 (M. bellendenii X villosa form d)

Theoretically, this cross between siblings ought to express some interesting recessive genes from the two species.

MM 21-168. I guess this counts as interesting.

A sibling, not so intresting.