As has been mentioned, embryo rescue (and just plain seed sowing on agar under sterile conditions) is pretty routine with orchids. But here's one way they differ from other seeds: orchid seeds have no endosperm. They opted to do without it to enable more effective wind transport, I guess. My understanding is that much of the infertility in wide hybrids is due to an incompatibility between seed and endosperm. Since orchids have found a work-around, their genetic fluidity continues to vex taxonomists and others of our species who like to push other organisms into tidy boxes :). Makes sense that embryo rescue might be promising for species whose seeds normally pack a lunch in the form of endosperm. Erik On Fri, 2 Apr 2021 at 16:38, Robert Lauf via pbs < pbs@lists.pacificbulbsociety.net> wrote: > ... My general sense, based on total ignorance, is that altho the pollen > succeeds in uniting with the ovule, perhaps the mother plant simply doesn't > recognize it as her offspring and doesn't expend the energy needed. > Perhaps analogous to miscarriages of genetically defective mammals in some > tenuous way..... > > > _______________________________________________ pbs mailing list pbs@lists.pacificbulbsociety.net http://lists.pacificbulbsociety.net/cgi-bin/… Unsubscribe: <mailto:pbs-unsubscribe@lists.pacificbulbsociety.net>