>I am wondering why we don't see more natural hybridization between orchid species. I'd appreciate an explanation and/or some guidance on which reference(s) might shed some light on this. Thanks
Hi Many of the native orchids of Australia and particularly Western Australia, hybridise very readily. I have seen patches of Caladenia orchids for example, which tended to display the full spectrum of behaviour for this group, with size variations from quite tiny to quite huge, and colours from white to red and all shades in between. This group were all growing in an area no more than 12ft square and also included a number of other genera such as Diuris etc. The late Ron Heberle had a 'thing' about the proliferation of natural hybrids and was always quick to point out the difficulties for taxonomists telling one from another, and which were or were not species. Many of Ron's photos of both the species and hybrids can be see here. http://members.iinet.net.au/%7Eemntee/Caladenia1.htm Tony The Species Orchid Society http://members.iinet.net.au/~emntee/page18.html Species Orchid Society Newsletter. http://members.iinet.net.au/%7Eemntee/page17.html _______________________________________________ the OrchidGuide Digest (OGD) orchids@orchidguide.com http://orchidguide.com/mailman/listinfo/orchids_orchidguide.com
