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Phal. Stone Dance

posted Dec 8, 2012, 8:19 PM by Patrick van Adrichem   [ updated Feb 2, 2013, 5:48 PM by Patrick van Adrichem ]

This is definitely not mis-labeled, and is a cross that I made myself, but the progeny are way off in left field from what I had originally intended, as a clear yellow. The cross is (Su-An Cricket 'Joy' X equestris var. alba 'Mime' (4n) ), which the resulting progeny is probably anuploid. I was surprised to bloom some of these like equestris, but when you look at the genetics, it starts to make perfect sense.

We have to take a close look at the pollen parent. This plant came to me in a flask from Mark Rose, from a sib-cross of 4n alba equestris. Some of the seedlings from this cross bloomed out purple like the typical equestris, and some bloomed out alba. At the time when I made this cross, I didn't realize that the plant was 4n. When looking through some old lists from Mark, I noticed it was 4n X 4n cross. I immediately did a chromosome count and confirmed that it is 4n. Being tetraploid, it theoretically imparts double the genetic material to the progeny. Alba forms are just 'typical' forms with a gene that either turns off the production of anthocyanin or somehow masks it. In this particular clone, that ability to turn off the anthocyanin seems to be unstable or 'weak'. Whenever I cut ‘Mime’s flower stem for stem props, I notice that if I leave the remaining flowers on the bench, within a few days they turn purple, and stay that way until they dry out! This is the only clone of any plant that I have noticed this happening to.

So we have an equestris (which usually is dominant in its progeny anyway), now giving double genetic influence, with unstable alba gene, results = standard equestris looking progeny. I still believe that some of these will not be purple, perhaps even a few will be red? Aren’t genetics wonderful! UGH