What's new
TerraForums Venus Flytrap, Nepenthes, Drosera and more talk

Register a free account today to become a member! Once signed in, you'll be able to participate on this site by adding your own topics and posts, as well as connect with other members through your own private inbox!

Parent order while cross-pollinating

Hey everyone!

I have a couple of VFTs getting ready to flower that I've been wanting to cross. I was curious if the order (male and female) has any affect on the seedlings produced? For example I'm attempting to cross Low Giant and [Fine Tooth x Red]. If I want the seedlings to produce more of Low Giant's characteristics do I use it as a male? Female? Or is it all just a crap shoot? This will be my first attempt at seeds :-O

Also just to make sure I have this down - To ensure self pollination doesn't occur I remove the anthers from the receiving flower?

Thanks!
 
In hybrid notation say Plant A × Plant B the convention is Plant A is the seed parent. Plant B is the pollen parent (donor). Whether the actual donor order makes a difference is difficult to say as there is variation between and within the individual seedlings. It may make a difference with a dioecious genus like Nepenthes if there are any sex linked characteristics.

With natural hybrids it is next to impossible to determine which species is which parent is which so the first publish description becomes the convention.

It makes a difference in grex notation but for normal botanical notation S. minor × leucophylla and S. leucophylla × minor are both considered S. × excellens.
 
Great information, thanks! I was curious because I'm coming from a few years with Nepenthes and definitely noticed the difference. I never fared too well in my biology courses but through the forums I think I'm understanding genetics (at least with CPs) a bit better.
 
Back
Top