Emerald Sea — N. viridiflorus backcross

In 2002 I made the back-cross between Emerald Sea and N. viridiflorus, using a flat small flowered form of the species originally collected in Morocco. In some respects the offspring are rather like a larger form of the species and most have reflexing tepals. I showed a flatter clone that flowered about a month ago. They all are a little variable in the extent of sepal twisting. The best clone, not pictured here, has slightly broader tepals that have very little twisting. All have the pale bluey-green coloration seen in the pictures below.

 

Emerald Sea x N. viridiflorus - 2013

Emerald Sea x N. viridiflorus – 2013

 

Close-up of flowers

Close-up of flowers

 

cheers, Harold

3 comments for “Emerald Sea — N. viridiflorus backcross

  1. Harold,

    Love the colors in both! Would you explain the wonderful powdery hazy blue green found in some N. viridiflorus? I’ve only seen it in a handfull. Is this glacous color widespread in the wild?

    Thanks,

    Steve

  2. Steve:

    There is a range of greens in the wild, from yellow- green, through deep green and to grey green. No one seems to have looked at the pigments in the flowers but I suspect that it was more to do with the waxy cuticle on the tepal epidermis than actual pigments; similar to the “blue haze” inside some coronas of standard pink daffodils.

    Harold

  3. Thanks Harold!

    I’ll have to pay much closer attention to the pinks now. I like the term “Blue Haze” although it is reminiscent of either a designer mind altering drug or a car wax. :-)

    Steve

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