Catasetum macrocarpum (varieties)

[Bruno De Toni]

At this time I would like to show some color variation in macrocarpum, these plants were collected in the wild and I placed them on a tangerine tree to detect shape or color variation among them. Please enjoy these beatifull plants. I forgot to say that the bug on one of the flower is the main pollinator of this plants, is a xilocopa sp bee, very annoying when I was shooting the pics.

[tuvoc]

Great pics, Bruno, and I LOVE the bee!

Kim

[Gena]

OMG! The variety on two first pictures is a killer!!! WOW! Just love it!

[LauraN]

Quite odd looking creatures aren't they ?
I love the photo with the bee, it looks right at home on that flower!

[Jan Pahl]

Bruno the red Burgundy macrocarpum you have reminds me the Pierre Couret Theory about how red and solid yellow pileatum came from...

Here some photos by Pierre Couret. All are Plants from the imperiale "Zone" that shows macrocarpum influence in color or in shape and color.

Jan

EDIT

P.D.1. You were right, your other taburare is very different from the one I know from your collection.

P.D.2. Very interesting to see hermaphrodite sanguineum flowers. First one at least for me

[isurus79]

Thanks Bruno and Jan for the pics! I can now see how the macrocarpum and pileatums have influenced eath other. Great pics Bruno! This species definitely has a lot of variation in it.

[kavanaru]

[Jan Pahl]

Originally Posted by isurus79

Thanks Bruno and Jan for the pics! I can now see how the macrocarpum and pileatums have influenced eath other. Great pics Bruno! This species definitely has a lot of variation in it.

Thanks Isurus....


Well today their is a line of thinking that puts "Catasetum pileatum var imperiale" as "Catasetum imperiale" based on the fact that when imperiale forms are selfed, variability is low, something that normally don't happens with x tapiriceps (the last one shows a vast array of offspring). Also that way of thinking is taken as "true" because in cultivation new "imperiale" forms from tapiriceps crossed back with pileatum aren't easy to obtain.

The only thing I have to say here is that genetic stability with some traids are not difficult to obtain inside natural "demes" of the same species, something very easy to see not only in pure species but also wen introgretic zones moves some genes from one species to the other.... That everyone can see almost with any orchid on nature and of course that don't put those new "traits" like new species just because the botanist don't have the patience to recreate imperiale with more than 1 or 2 generations.

The other thing that it have to be said here is that if "Capanaparo basin" imperiale has to be put as a a new species, them not only the red forms have to be treated that way, but all the forms that shows macrocarpum influence in color, shape or some traits on vegetative behaviour... that includes all the plants show on the previous photos, and even many pileatum from that zone that apparently don't show any macrocarpum influence on it.

I think the real question here isn't to name an artifact "new" species, but discuss when plants from introgretic zones can still be considered hybrids (in this case tapiriceps), and wen plants from introgretic zones are "pure" species but show some gene flow contribution between species.

Genetic flow between species is to much common just to justify "speciation" occur specially wen the introgretic zone still have uninterrupted genetic flow between the introgretic area and the "pure" species area and wen the hybrid responsable for the introgretic zone still is dynamic and a common plants still happening everyday. Only cases like laelia halbingeriana (new completely isolated species segregated from superbiens that shows some anceps genes) are for me real new cases of true speciation from hybrid origin.