What is a hybrid flower?

Question

What exactly is it? Explanation without so hard words! I'm not an idiot or young, but still, most articles i've read are just confusing. Don't just copy and paste the wikipedia. article!!! thanks!

Answer 1

Plants have the ability to cross-fertilize and produce both sterile offspring just as mammals do and, more commonly, fertile offspring.

Think mule. If you breed a horse mare with a donkey jack you get an infertile hybrid we call a mule. Mule is the generic term we use for any infertile hybrid animal, not just the equine, so it is also possible to get duck mules. One example of a mule in ducks is the sterile duckling from a female mallard (Anas platyrynchos) inseminated by a Muscovy drake (Cairina moschata). This produces a popular farm duck with lean meat. However to get more mules we have to go back the mare and jack or mallard and muscovy. This is where plants differ since they usually have fertile offspring.

Plants can work the same way. Two genetically independent species can cross and produce a viable seed that grows into a plant but it can't produce fertile seeds. This can then be the source of a seedless fruit.

Plants that are hybrids are listed with an x after the genus name like Gerbera x hybrid. This tells you it is a cross within that genus but doesn't specify the two parent species, probably because it is not known. This is called a specific or interspecific cross because it is two species crossed from within a genus.
Intergenic crosses are between species from different genera but the same family. Belamcanda flabellata and Belamcanda chinensi by Orchid Lily (Pardanthopsis dichotoma) to get x Pardancanda. (The "x" comes first to show an intergenetic cross)
Most fuchsias are the result of breeding between many species, much of it undocumented. F. magellanica and F. fulgens appear to be the primary parents of traditional garden hybrid fuchsia plants, though perhaps up to10 other species may have been involved later.
F. triphylla probably crossed with F boliviana and then with F. fulgens and F splendens giving rise to the the group known as the Triphylla Hybrids.

If we decide to create a hybrid fuchsia we could take a seed parent, the female, and a pollen parent, the male from two species with traits we liked. We would grow the first generation to see what traits appear. Then we might breed back to a parent or with another fuchsia species.
Fuchsia spp designates a species plant.
Fuchsia spp var. - a variant within the species. Like we can have both brown & blue eyes as variants within our species.

Cultivar tells us it is a named variety maintained in cultivation. It is abbreviated cv. for "cultivated variety". It means that however this plant is reproduced it will retain its distinguishing characteristics. The importance of this designation is that the traits are registered under that name and will always be the same.

Note, just because it is a cultivar does not mean it is a hybrid. There are named species cultivars as well as hybrid cultivars. A classic example of a named species is Rosa chinensis 'Mutabilis' this is a named cultivar of Rosa chinensis.
Sorry if this is still confusing. It is a complex subject because plants are much more variable than animals are.

Answer 2

In general, hybrids can have more difficulties in surviving than already-established species. But the characteristics of the species have the biggest effect on hybrid success. For example, in places where there are many orchids (not even of the same species or even of the same genus), hybrids are present. The practicality of the standard definition of species is somewhat weak among the orchids, for some reason. This is an extreme of hybrid vigour. But the common apple hybrids, for example (which produce some kind of fruit that we like a lot — e.g. Macintosh apples), cannot even be reproduced on purpose. The particular tree MUST be cut up into segments and spliced to the roots of apple saplings to grow another tree that has those apples on it which we want. In this case, the species concept is so real and verifiable that hybridization only works within the apple species. There are some well-known wild hybrid species which show their past hybrid background by their genetic makeup in the present. I've listed a couple in my references - do a search using "natural wild hybrid plant" to find more.

Answer 3

To add to the others... generally the result of the hybrid cross (the two parents to get a third different plant) becomes a named cultivar.

Hybrid Tea Rose bushes are great examples... "Peace", "Chicago Peace", "Tiffany" and countless others are all hybrids that resulted from breeding. Different apples are another... "Red Delicious", "Macintosh" and "Granny Smith" are also cutivars or hybrids.

I hope that this helps

Answer 4

I agree with the first 2 answers so far. I wanted to add that I had hybrid Columbine one year with beautiful colors but on the second year it reverted back to one of the original parent colors. It could have just been a fluke but it did happen.

Answer 5

hybrid means to cross species. so when one plant is crossed wth another it makes a new species. For example, there was a scientist who crossed long beans with short beans. he grew them singular then the got the part of the plant that germinnates (or sex cells) and bred them together. another example is breeding dogs, you can breed 2 types of dogs to get a mixture, like a poodle and a staffy (i have no idea what that would make) but its interesting. i hope u understand what im saying.

Answer 6

It is a flower that is not in nature but is breeded from two different flowers to make a new one