Natural hybrids?

[Ant]

I was wondering since from what I hear that hybrids are hardy and are easier to care for then either of its parent plants, why don't natural hybrids combine or grow much more often then the parent plants?

 

[glider14]

some populations do. some dont. i dont think its known why this is... hookeriana is an example of a stable natural hybrid of a "species in the making". the hybrids breed with eachother and you get stable populations. these populations could eventually drown out the parent species though!

Alex

 

[Ant]

Really? I though raffs and amps are so common it would really be hard to out compete them in even small areas. Also that nep looks pretty good, I am gonna to put that on my want list, LOL!

 

[xvart]

They don't "outcompete" each other. They just form three different populations that grow in the same general area.

AxA;
BxB; and,
AxB and BxA.

xvart.

 

[phissionkorps]

Hybrids should theoretically outcompete the parent species because of hybrid vigor, but for some reason they don't. I think relatively few hybrid plants are produced, so when they flower, they are usually washed out by the species that create them. That's why we have things that look (sort of/mostly) like platychila, but are actually introgressed fusca hybrids.