[pbs] Manfreda and Polianthes
Tony Avent
tony at plantdelights.com
Mon Dec 4 12:22:16 EST 2006
John:
Sorry for the confusion. Carl Schoenfeld of Yucca Do Nursery collected
seed of Manfreda variegata in the wild in Mexico. Upon growing the seed
out when he returned, two plants were noticeably different....5' wide
clumps compared to 18" for the typical species. We originally assumed
that they were simply tetraploid. I went to Yucca Do to see the plants
when they first flowered (May 2003) and Carl showed me that the flowers
were different from Manfreda variegata. As we wandered around their
garden, we noticed that Agave celsi was flowering at the same time and
began noticing that the flowers of M. 'Macha Mocha' seemed to be
intermediate in character between Manfreda variegata and Agave celsi.
Carl recalled that Agave celsi did indeed grow nearby the site where the
Manfreda seed were collected. While none of this has been confirmed by
DNA, it is obvious to anyone who has seen the M. 'Macha Mocha' in flower
that it is most likely a cross between the two genera. You can see a
closeup of the plant with the bottom of the flower stalk at
http://www.plantdelights.com/Catalog/Fall/Detail/05377.html. There were
no seed set and I doubt we'll be seeing any from this creature.
Tony Avent
Plant Delights Nursery @
Juniper Level Botanic Garden
9241 Sauls Road
Raleigh, North Carolina 27603 USA
Minimum Winter Temps 0-5 F
Maximum Summer Temps 95-105F
USDA Hardiness Zone 7b
email tony at plantdelights.com
website http://www.plantdelights.com
phone 919 772-4794
fax 919 772-4752
"I consider every plant hardy until I have killed it myself...at least three times" - Avent
John Grimshaw wrote:
> Tony - the origins of 'Macha Mocha' weren't quite clear to me from your post
> yesterday. Was the wild parent plant an obvious hybrid (i.e. F1) such that
> 'Macha Mocha' and its unreleased sib seedling are F2?
>
> Did its flowering at YD in 2003 result in any seed being set?
>
> John Grimshaw
>
> Sycamore Cottage
> Colesbourne
> Nr Cheltenham
> Gloucestershire GL53 9NP
>
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