[b said:
Quote[/b] ]No, the plant has to be within the same species.
There are, of course, a couple of organisms out there that're inter-genus crosses (can't think of any inter-family ones, though.) But then they're almost guaranteed to be sterile.
[b said:
Quote[/b] ]if you can only cross CPs in the same genus...then why cant you make a hybrid like N Rajah x Aristo or Hamata x Rajah??
Quick review of terms:
Genus specific epithet (Eg
Nepenthes (<---genus)
hamata (<---specific epithet/species)) is the taxonomic order in which the names of organisms are given.
Nepenthes is a Genus, so when you take one species from the genus and cross it with another species from the genus, you get a hybrid. If you cross the same species, then all you have is another specimine of the species, and when distinct differences arise here, you end up with smaller organizational groups.
But just because plants are in the same genus, it is not guaranteed that a hybrid of two species within the genus will be viable. For instance, not all species within the genus
Drosera will result in a viable offspring.
It's all a bit difficult, and things are always getting shifted around. But you need to keep in mind, for the very most part, our taxonomic groupings are genetically arbitrary. Most organisms have been classified by physical characteristics (eg flower parts) and not by genetics, so what we call two
Drosera could conceivably be two VERY genetically dissimilar organisms.
Long story short: For the most part, no awesome supermutant hybrids by rubbing pollen from one flower on to a random other flower. But it can happen.