Haemanthus TOW

J.E. Shields jshields@indy.net
Fri, 10 Dec 2004 06:13:22 PST
Hi all,

In autumn 2002, I had three species of Haemanthus in bloom at the same 
time:  HH. albiflos, coccineus, and humilis hirsutus (one umbel of 
each).  I crossed coccineus and hirsutus both ways; I only got seeds on 
hirsutus.  Today, there are a few seedlings alive and growing from the 
cross [humilis hirsutus X coccineus] (i.e., humilis hirsutus is the berry 
or seed parent, while coccineus is the pollen parent).  The leaves are 
somewhat hairy, and they have narrow dark red margins.  Since some of the 
coccineus I grow have red margins on their leaves, and none of the hirsutus 
do, I think these particular seedlings are probably true hybrids between 
the two species.

I also crossed [albiflos X humilis hirsutus] at the same time, and it 
appears that some of these seedlings have rather hairier leaves than the 
pure albiflos seedlings usually have.  These particular seedlings may be 
hybrids between albiflos and hirsutus.  I'm not sure there will ever be a 
certainty about it until someone does some DNA work on these species.

None of my hybrid Haemanthus seedlings is yet large enough that I would 
dare remove any tissue for DNA analysis in any case. Someday, I hope to 
know for certain!

Jim Shields
in dark, chilly, and gloomy central Indiana


*************************************************
Jim Shields             USDA Zone 5             Shields Gardens, Ltd.
P.O. Box 92              WWW:    http://www.shieldsgardens.com/
Westfield, Indiana 46074, USA
Tel. ++1-317-867-3344     or      toll-free 1-866-449-3344 in USA



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