Entwined said: So I missed a blossom on another adjacent Ipomoea aquatica and I actually have two open this morning!
I emasculated the first carefully after opening it an observing the stamens had not contacted the stigma and then pollinated it with the pollen of Ipomoea fistulosa.
I did not emasculate the second blossom,
I have read that there is molecular work indicating that
Ipomoea aquatica is closer to
Ipomoea fistulosa than to others. Additionally I have observed several synapomorphies between the two, or shared traits that they both obtained from a common ancestor.
I find this all quite interesting.
Both the seed I only pollinated as well as the seed I emasculated before pollinating have fruit forming.
It appears that
Ipomoea aquatica x
Ipomoea fistulosa results in successful pollination and fertilization, though more observations will be needed to confirm this.
I also have signs of success with
Ipomoea setosa fruit that are outcrossed, but the fruits are deformed, despite not aborting, a good sign actually in some ways but it may result in a seed that won't grow or germinate normally. I also cannot claim that the
Ipomoea setosa line I am working with is true, as that the seed came from another cross attempt and had a much larger flower than the original
Ipomoea setosa parent did, though again more testing and observation are needed to conclude that hybridization successfully occurred.
I need to obtain more species of
Ipomoea to continue and expand this series of experiments but I like how manageable
Ipomoea fistulosa is indoors under lights. It is easy to keep this plant flowering regularly while still under a foot tall!
I am in a climate and location where very few Ipomoea species can survive from year to year but because in some cases these plants can be invasive and hybrids of them may also be problematic if introduced into certain environments, it is important to proceed carefully with this type of thing.
