Re: HYB: Seed Developement
- Subject: Re: [iris-talk] HYB: Seed Developement
- From: w*
- Date: Thu, 5 Jul 2001 10:11:19 -0500
- Priority: normal
> > From: wmoores <wmoores@watervalley.net>
> >
> > I have planted many bee pods and have not seen much variation in
> > the seedlings. For each individual grain of pollen to produce each
> > seed, you'd have reds, whites, blues, plicatas, selfs, reverse bi-
> > colors, etc. in the seedlings from a bee pod. I have not seen that. My
> > experience does not bear this out.
>
> Walter,
>
>
The pollen that is involved in cross
> pollination of iris flowers by bees is not pollen that is actively
> collected by the bee, but pollen that is brushed on to the bee's back from
> the anther as the bee works its way into the heart of the flower . .
>
> Jeff Walters in northern Utah (USDA Zone 4/5, Sunset Zone 2, AHS Zone 7)
> jcwalters@bridgernet.com
In my first post on this subject, I should have said bumblebee. Yes,
I know that the pollination by bumblebees is by pollen the bumblebee
brushed against and accidentally carried to another flower.
The doubt I have in my mind still is that each seed in an iris pod is
fathered by a separate grain of pollen. If every chamber of a
bumblbee seed pod is full, then, according to this theory, he has
brushed up to fifty grains of pollen on the stigmatic lip. I really
doubt that. And, as I said earlier, there would be more variation in
seedlings from a bee pod since the bumblebee visited so many
flowers.. There hasn't been that much variation for
me to suspect multiple fathers in a seed pod.
Also, I have accidentally pollinated the same flower twice with
different pollen within a few minutes. Noting the mistake
immediately, I marked the tag as having Father A or Father B. In
every case, Father A has been the father of all of the seeds in the
pod, no matter how many grains were used or if all three stigmatic
lips were used. To save pollen, I usually pollinate only one
stigmatic lip. Some say, you have to do all three. That is not
true.
Anyway, I am drying two separate bee pods from INTO THE NIGHT.
I'll give you a report in two years!
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