Sinningia 'Distant Lights' (leopoldii x "Black Hill")

1. History
2. Tuber
3. Genetics
4. Hybridization
5. Feature table

History

I used to have a small plant of S. leopoldii.  The second year it bloomed (2001), I put pollen of Sinningia sp. "Black Hill" on it, and got the hybrid I named S. 'Distant Lights'.  My S. leopoldii plant died soon thereafter, but the hybrid plants have flourished.

In general appearance, the hybrid plants resemble "Black Hill", but have two horticultural advantages over it:

1. The plant is more compact, rarely exceeding 12 inches [30 cm] in height, and does not drop its lower leaves (the lower stem of "Black Hill" is often bare by autumn).
2. The hybrids have 2-4 flowers per axil, while "Black Hill" usually has just one (sometimes two).

Tuber

One year this plant had a rotten area on the tuber.  I cleaned out the mush, leaving this cavern behind.  It does not seem to inconvenience the plant.

Genetics

S. 'Distant Lights' has indeterminate growth habit, from its "Black Hill" parent; S. leopoldii is determinate.  I have crossed 'Distant Lights' with S. douglasii (also determinate), and got plants with indeterminate habit, despite the fact that only 1/4 of the ancestry is determinate.  This is consistent with the result from a completely different three-species mix.

Hybridization

I have crossed this plant with S. douglasii (see above).  The hybrid plants have tubular flowers with some spotting.

Feature table for Sinningia 'Distant Lights'