HYBANTHERA 



442 



HYBRIDISING 



H. orienta'lis semiple'nus (semi-double), -jf. Variegated. 

 March. 1596. 



,, Pri'nceps (chief). See GALTONIA PRINCEPS. 



racemo'sus (racemed). See MUSCARI RACEMOSUM. 



roma'nus (Roman), i. White. May. Mediter- 

 ranean region. 



,, sessiliflo'rus (stalkless-flowered). N. Africa. 



spica'tus (large-spiked). J. Blush. February. Zante. 

 1826. 



syri'acus (Syrian). See H. TRIFOLIATUS. 



trifolia'tus (three-leaved), i. Orange, blue. May. 

 Syria. 1840. 



vi'ridis (green). See DIPCADI FILAMENTOSUM. 



HYBANTHE'RA. (From hubos, convex, and anthera, 

 an anther ; in allusion to the convex or gibbous anther. 

 Nat. ord. Asclepiadaceae.) 



Warm greenhouse twiner. Cuttings in sand not over- 

 watered. Loam, old mortar in small pieces, and sand. 

 Summer temp., 60 to 85 ; winter, 50 to 55 J . 

 H. cordifo'lia (heart-leaved). Green, yellow. May. 

 China. 1840. 



HYBE'RNIA DEFOLIA'RIA. Mottled Umber Moth. 

 This moth is very common, widely distributed, and makes 

 its appearance during October and November. The 

 female is brown and almost wingless. The male has well- 

 developed wings of a pale ochreous hue mottled with 

 brown, and marbled with light brown in the form of a 

 short and long zigzag band across each forewing. The 

 caterpillar is a looper, like that of the Winter Moth, and 

 is reddish-brown on the back, with a yellow line on each 

 side and a red spot on each segment. It makes its 

 appearance when the flowers and leaves are unfolding, 

 and these it devours together with buds or young fruit. 

 Cherries, Plums, Apples, Nuts, and many fore'st trees, get 

 greatly defoliated and destroyed by it. The female 

 climbs the trunks of the trees to lay her eggs, and may 

 be caught and destroyed by grease-banding the trees in 

 the same way as for the Winter Moth (Cheimatobia 

 brumata), which see, under the latter name. 



HYBRID. A plant raised from seed, which is the 

 result of the fertilisation of two distinct species. If the 

 result of a cross between species belonging to two different 

 genera, like Cattleya and Laelia, it is termed a bigeneric 

 hybrid. 



HYBRIDISING and CROSS-BREEDING. Those who 

 desire to be successful in this kind of work should first 

 make themselves familiar with the structure of the 

 flowers upon which they intend to operate. A complete 

 flower consists of four sets of organs. The outer whorl 

 of organs is collectively known as the calyx, while the 

 individual members of it are the sepals, if free from one 

 another, but if more or less united, the various pieces 

 are termed segments, lobes, or teeth of the calyx, 

 according to their length. Inside the calyx is a second 

 set of organs, collectively termed the corolla. If the 

 parts are free from one another they are termed petals ; 

 but, if joined at the base, the free parts are spoken of as 

 the lobes of the corolla. Inside of this come the stamens, 

 consisting usually of a slender portion known as the 

 filament, and surmounted by a more swollen or thickened 

 part at the top, known as the anther, which contains a 

 powdery substance named the pollen. The filament 

 may be absent in some species, but the anther is the 

 essential part. In the centre of the flower is the pistil, 

 which may consist of one organ, as in a Cherry or Plum 

 flower, or may consist of many pieces, as in the Butter- 

 cup. The lower, swollen part is the ovary or young 

 seed-vessel, and this is surmounted by a slender stalk, 

 known as the style, as seen in a Cherry flower. The 

 stigma is the slightly swollen knob on the top, as seen in 

 the same flower, and to this the pollen has to be applied. 

 In a Carnation the stigma is much longer, and with the 

 aid of a magnifying lens may be seen forming a finely 

 downy line along the upper side of the spreading styles, 

 from the apex, for some distance downwards. The three 

 stigmas of a Begonia are erect, spirally twisted like 

 screws, velvety, and easily seen by the naked eye. The 

 style is lacking in many flowers, but the stigma 

 is essential. Now it will be seen that the hybridist and 

 cross-breeder have to concern themselves with the 

 stamens and pistil, which are the essential parts of a 

 flower The calyx is intended for protection and support, 



while the petals are also protective, but usually more or 

 less highly coloured, and serve for attracting insects. 



Stamens and pistil may be present in the same flower ; 

 or they may be in different flowers, on the same plant, 

 as in Begonia, Melon, and Cucumber ; or they may only 

 be found on separate individuals, as in the Willow, 

 Poplar, and Aucuba, the flowers of which are unisexual, 

 or of one sex only. The male parent of a cross-bred or 

 hybrid plant is that from which the pollen is taken ; and 

 the female parent is that which bears the seed. 



Cross-breeding is the correct term to use, when the 

 pollen is taken from one flower and placed on the stigma 

 of another belonging to the same species. If pollen is 

 taken from an anther and placed on the stigma of the 

 same flower, this would be self-pollination, or self- 

 fertilisation. This practice might answer the purpose 

 if the seedlings are desired to be the same as the parent ; 

 but even then it is better if the pollen is taken from another 

 plant of the same variety, as in the Chinese Primula, 

 because the progeny will be more robust. Should the 

 intention be to get a new variety, possessing a different 

 colo'ir of the Primula, then pollen must be taken from 

 a variety with flowers of some desirable hue. It may be 

 desirable in some cases to combine other characters cf 

 the foliage or habit of two parents, and in such cases 

 pollen is taken from the anthers of one and applied to 

 the stigma of the other. This method of getting new 

 varieties is termed cross-breeding. 



Hybridisation is a similar operation, but the parents 

 used are more distantly related. For instance, if pollen 

 is taken from the flower of Begonia boliviensis and placed 

 on the stigma of B. Pearcei, the seedlings would be 

 hybrids, if the operation has been successful. 



Begonias, Dendrobiums, Cattleyas, and Cypripediums 

 may readily be hybridised, and the resulting hybrids 

 may be crossed again in other ways, that is, with different 

 parents. At one time it was supposed that all hybrids 

 were sterile, or in other words, that the seedlings were 

 mules. Experiments have shown that this is not the 

 case. What are termed bigeneric hybrids have been 

 produced by intercrossing species of Cattleya and LaElia, 

 species of Epidendrum and Laelia, species of Brassayola 

 and Cattleya. Species of Brassia have been combined 

 with the hybrids of Cattleya and Laelia, thus giving 

 trigeneric hybrids. Just how far hybridisation may be 

 carried can only be determined by experiment. The 

 more distantly related the parents the greater the diffi- 

 culty in getting them to hybridise. Much also depends 

 upon the skill of the operator, not only in effecting 

 hybridisation but in rearing the seedlings. 



The hundreds of fine flowers of Sweet Peas, Chinese 

 Primulas, Carnations, Garden Pinks, and some others are 

 not the result of hybridisation, but of cross-breeding fine 

 varieties with one another. A large proportion of the 

 fine garden Roses, tuberous-rooted Begonias, Pansies, 

 and Violas are the outcome of hybridisation and cross- 

 breeding in various combinations. Hitherto it has 

 baffled experimenters to produce a hybrid between the 

 Sweet Pea (Lathyrus odoratus) and any other species of 

 Lathyrus, and the same difficulty is experienced with 

 many other species more or less closely related. Little 

 hope can be held out of producing a hybrid between a 

 Rose and a Primrose, for instance, because they belong 

 to two different natural orders, and are too distantly 

 related. 



To be successful, the plants must be more or less closely 

 related. The operator must also learn to get the pollen 

 in perfect condition, and the stigma must be fully de- 

 veloped and in a receptive condition before the pollen 

 can be effective. This can only be determined by 

 knowing the character and habit of the flower upon which 

 it is intended to operate. The Sweet Pea and Garden 

 Pea are self-fertilising, and to make sure of introduced 

 pollen being effective, the flower must be opened and 

 the stamens removed from the intended seed-bearer 

 before they are fully developed. The stamens of a 

 Carnation must be removed before the anthers open. 

 The female flowers of a Begonia contain no stamens. 

 In all these cases the flowers must be covered immediately 

 with thin gauze or muslin to make sure of excluding 

 insects, at least in summer, when insects are plentiful. 

 Under glass it is easy to exclude them by placing tiffany 

 over the ventilators, when open. The next point to 

 observe is whether the style and stigma are fullydeveloped. 

 In many plants the stigma becomes covered with a fine 



