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  • From: Ron Maunder <pondeeza@enternet.co.nz>
  • To: pleurothallid-l@lists.ibiblio.org
  • Subject: [pleurothallid-l] (no subject)
  • Date: Sat, 29 Nov 2003 16:25:52 +1300

Hi Marc,

Send your snail mail address for datura pollen for your strobelii. Don't think that cross is registered. Thirty odd flowers to choose from on datura at present. Plant came from Marguerite Webb at J&L years ago when she was over. I divided up another piece of it last year and it reacted badly. Lost lots of leaves. So much so that some pieces died or started again with just two leaves! Anyone on the list know whether datura doesn't like division?

Yes, Masd veitchiana 'P de G' has a hidden gene. Not sure about 'Sol' and other clones. When 'P de G' was crossed with alba coccinea it gave 50% beautiful saffron yellow Falcatas with no
anthocyanin. These we call xanthics to distinguish them from white albas.The name has been used before for the similar 'albino' crispum-type Odontoglossums which are yellow or yellow and white patterned.

The rest of our Falcatas from the cross were sunset colours - light creamy backgrounds with some light pink or pale purple overlays. Quite different from the normal rich coloured Falcatas with their heavy purple overlays. Unfortunately all the cross have weaker arching stems from the two parents. Most coccinea albas we've seen have thin stems compared to the coloured ones which are usually erect. They are all beautiful and last a long long time on the plants and cut too.

This line of Falcatas have given a new dimension of colours to our normal alba, red, orange, cerise or sulphur yellow (also xanthic) coccinea cut flowers. We are crossing these saffrons with the sulphur yellow coccineas (eg 'Wayne Miller') to see if some will inherit the coccinea erect stem. Ironically whether they turn out gold or coloured the cross will still be called Towering Inferno!

Warning! There are problems encountered with this line of breeding however. Did you ever purchase a seedling outcross of Masd coccinea alba and flower a cerise one and then heard they all turned out non-albas? Alba Cattleya species and maybe their hybrids when put together can give big lavenders if you don't know the breeding habits of the parents . Unless you know that your coccinea alba gives albas, you could be up for NO xanthics if you remake the Falcata above. We only have one alba clone that we know for sure is "pure". Even then we might be proved wrong in the future!

I should also mention that datura is NOT an alba. No albino Bella Donnas turned up to my knowledge when datura was crossed with coccinea alba. Perhaps the wrong alba was used? Maybe someone on the list will prove me wrong. There is always that outside chance that an alba will turn up anywhere I guess. Disa hybridisers are still hoping for a sparkling white alba uniflora to turn up!

You can see a "black" spot on datura at the base of the sepaline tube where the ovary starts - from the outside it shows up. To me this explains why datura is not an albino, although it looks like one. That dark spot comes through in the Bella Donnas and in most Lyn Sherlocks (Bella Donna x coccinea again) it still just shows up as a faded spot. I have seen it in the Alyssa Marias (veitchiana x datura) also.

Your strobelii is also a xanthic with its white hairs and no anthocyanin. It gave a percentage of clear orange xanthic-type Angel Frosts with white "hairs" when crossed with veitchiana. I think I've seen pictures of xanthic Hoosier Angels somewhere from agaster x veitchiana, though in the small population of Hoosier Angels which came to NZ a xanthic hasn't turned up here, but they certainly carry the xanthic gene.

I guess I have bored the warm growing members "out of their trees" with all the above. Now they know how I feel when the drift is all terrariums, LSU's and whistling frogs! Not that we can't all get some new knowledge about growing pleurothallids by hearing about what others have to contend with. You have to be keen to grow most Pleurothallid genera in your hot/cold climate in the USA! BTW no offence intended.

Marc, its Masdevallia coccinea-types we are shipping right now. Disas exports start in a week or two but the stronger NZ$ means not so many flowers will be coming your way this year.(Was US42c but now US63 cents to our dollar!) Too expensive for you now, but our costs are still going up like everywhere so we can't afford to reduce our prices from last seasons! We will sell a lot off locally as pot plants instead.

Cheers and apologies to all for the long "chat"! Maybe it will start a new "thread" or two.

Ron Maunder in NZ



  • [pleurothallid-l] (no subject), Ron Maunder, 11/28/2003

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