HYB: Inter-species Crosses

From: Sharon McAllister <73372.1745@compuserve.com>

Mike Lowe wrote:

>  Now having answered the above, permit me the luxury of being grumpy: can
>  anyone clearly and cogently explain the following puzzlements:

>       1. How can you designate something as an interspecies hybrid when
>  one of the parents is unknown???

In some cases, the species is known but the cultivar is not.  For example,
I. stonolifera travels -- so I may be sure that I've used I. stolonifera as
the pod parent but not be sure which named cultivar it was.  In that case,
I think I'd be justified in designating any offspring from it by a known,
non-stolonifera pollen parent as inter-species.  That does NOT mean I'd be
justified in using that designation if the pollen parent were completely
unknown.

>       2.  Once upon a time I was led to believe that to qualify as a
>  species any such plant so designated should come true from seed. Do any
of
>  the above 'species' come true from seed???

I believe that this is a truth that has been oversimplified and distorted
as it's been passed down through the years.  The traits that are
characteristics of the species should come true from seed, but those which
are variable within the species should not.  For example, if I were to
raise something from I. hoogiana seed that had globuar form and a prominent
signal I would be highly suspicious -- but if I were to cross a light
flower with a darker one I would not be at all suprised to find a range of
colors in the offspring.

>       3. Polly Dodge (one parent of ROYAL DOLLY) is at least three
>  generations removed from the species Siberian parent: how can the
progeny
>  from this cross possibly be termed an 'Interspecies Hybrid' ???

I can't explain this one.  If, however, a species had been line-bred and
selected for three or more generations I'd still consider the offspring to
be selected clones of that species and designate any seedlings that might
result from an outcross of one of them to another species as an
'InterspeciesHybrid'.

>       3. Does a cross where the progeny markedly differs from the one
>  known parent (GORDONVILLE CREAM) still qualify as a 'species.' ???

Again, I'd say it depends on whether the 'marked difference' affects
characteristic traits or variable ones.   See my answer to #2. 

>       4. How do pseudacorus crosses qualify as 'LAEV' one time and as
>  SPEC (species) the next???

I'd have to re-read the rules, but I was under the impression they gave the
hybridizer a certain amount of latitude in making this choice.  I'm not
suggesting that this is the way it "should" be -- just that it appears to
be the way it is.

>  I have attended 3 or 4 species and spec-X Judges' training sessions,
taught
>  by some of the outstanding workers in the field and I wind up more
confused
>  and less knowledgeable after each session.

Having stated my opinions, I should also point out that they will not
necessarily clarify these murky waters -- I'm much more interested in what
I can learn of the genetics of intra-species and inter-species crosses than
in the awards they garner.

Sharon McAllister
73372.1745@compserve.com

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