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I have grown S. leucotricha x cardinalis seed from the Gesneriad Hybridizers Association Seed Fund. Most of the resulting plants were S. leucotricha, but one was definitely a hybrid, with reddish flowers and cardinalis-type foliage which was nonetheless somewhat hairy. This is shown in the picture.
In crossing S. cardinalis and S. leucotricha, one would be hoping for S. leucotricha foliage and S. cardinalis flowers. Unfortunately, what one gets is more like S. cardinalis foliage and S. leucotricha flowers.
I have selfed this plant, and also back-crossed it to S. leucotricha (including the "Max Dekking" form). These seedlings have flowers of the leucotricha type, with foliage about halfway between this hybrid and leucotricha. Given Vincent Parsons's experience (see the douglasii x leucotricha page), this may be a long project! On the other hand, given how long these species have been in cultivation, if cardinalis flowers on leucotricha foliage were easy, it would already have been done.
| Plant Description |
|
| Growth | Determinate, like S. leucotricha |
| Habit | Stems upright with 2-4 leaf pairs |
| Leaves | Green, with some silvery hairs, about halfway between leucotricha and cardinalis |
| Dormancy | Stems fully deciduous. Dormancy is obligate. |
Flowering |
|
| Inflorescence | terminal cluster like S. leucotricha, but also axillary cymes in the lower leaf axils, like S. cardinalis. |
| Season | Blooms spring-summer, about the same time as S. leucotricha |
| Flower | Salmon pink to orange-red, tubular, slightly larger than S. leucotricha's, but without S. cardinalis's galea, which must therefore be recessive |
Horticultural aspects |
|
| From seed | About three years to bloom, under my conditions |
| Hardiness | Has tolerated 30F (-1C) in my yard |
| Recommended? | Not a bad plant, mostly interesting for hybridizing potential |
Botany |
|
| Taxonomic group | Both parents are in the Dircaea clade. |