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Home , Costaceae, Heliconia, Marantaceae, Puerto Rican emerald, Zingiberaceae

NATURAL AND ARTIFICAL HYBRIDS IN THE

ANTONIO SOTOMAYOR-RIOS RETIRED, UPR; USDA, ARS-TARS GENETIC SELECTION

• ACCORDING TO L. Isaza and others, UNIVERSITY, LA PEREIRA,2012:

• “In COLOMBIA, CULTIVATION OF NATIVE HELICONIAS FOR EXPORT CONSTITUTES A PROFITABLE AND ENVIRONMENTALLY ENTERPRISE, HOWEVER, THE FEW THAT ARE CURRENTLY BEING CULTIVATED HAVE NOT UNDERGONE GENETIC SELECTION , AND AS A RESULT, THEIR QUALITY DOES NOT COMPLY WITH INTERNATIONAL MARKET STANDARDS”

• IN NZ AND IN PR WAS DEMOSTRATED HYBRIDIZATION AND GENETIC SELECTION IS A POSSIBILITY IN THE HELICONIAS

RELATIVES OF HELICONIAS

• Heliconia: only in heliconiacea • Member of larger taxonomic group, • Conspicuous characters recognized: • Large long w blades, large , usually colored bracteate inflorescenses. ZINGIBERALES-eight families

• (the ) • Strelitiaceae ( of paradise) • Lowiaceae (no common name) • Heliconiaceae (the heliconias) • ( the ) • () • Cannaceae (the cannas) • (prayer ) ESSENCE OF THE TROPICS

• Heliconias – most productive of all exotic plants • Stunning diversity in color % form make the every essence of the tropics • 220 species, hundred of varieties native to the american tropics, and south pacific islands • Source: C. Collins, group, Hawaii Photo credit: Colton Collins. 2018. Heliconia Society of . NATURAL HYBRIDS AND

• Exclusive of heliconia • Only found Western hemisphere • Colombia has greatest # 153. PR has 6 species; 2 endemic.: Emerald (Chlorostilbum maugeus); in Dominica, purple-throated Carib hummingbird (Eulampis jugularis) • B. BRUNNER’S BOOK: 54 natural hybrids HUMMMINGBIRDS IN PR

• maugaeus (Puerto Rican emerald)* • Anthracotorax dominicus aurulentus (golden) • Anthracotorax viridis (green zunzum of PR)* • Sericotes holosericeus (green torax) • Archolocus colubris (red throat) • Orthoryhncus cristatus

*Indigenous from Puerto Rico

ECOLOGICAL SIGNIFICANCE

• Bill of hummingbird species represent : males straight bills, females curved bills

• morphology of …evolved to adapt to the size and shape of bills of female and male: flower- Photo reference adapted from: Kress, J. and E.J. Temeles. 2011. association called co- Heliconia Society of Puerto Rico. evolution

HUMMINGBIRDS IN THE AIR

“Many times they are seeing almost quiet in the air, without changing sites, strongly beating in the air and it is that they are hunting in the air. When flying to chuck the nectar of the flowers, first they go to the flower where they remain flying in front of it; then they go back and introduce their large tongue in the flower, and back again to another flower and then on and on until they inspect all the flowers of a plant.” AN EXAMPLE OF A NATURAL

Bubble Gum (H. bihai x H. caribaea):

PROGENIES OF BUBBLE GUM (OP)

Photo adapted from: Heliconia Society International. 2005. Vol 12. No.1 BARRIERS TO HYBRIDIZATION

• Pre-zygotic • Gametic isolation: gametes of species are chemically incompatible • Hybrid sterility: an interspecific hybrid may survive until adult stage, but is not capable to reproduce • Other: meiotic problems, specially at the anaphase stage (lagging univalents) • Other: form and shape of the hummingbird, shape of corolla of heliconia.

Photo reproduced from: A Sotomayor-Rios et al. 1960. FIRST HELICONIA MAN MADE HYBRIDS REPORTED

New Zealand • Parents : H. stricta (‘Jamaican dwarf’), (f); H. wagneriana, (m) • Jongking & Jongking 2015, Heliconia Society International

Puerto Rico • Parents : H. vellerigera (f); H. longissima (m) • Rosado, 2017, Heliconia Society Puerto Rico

GROWING ENVIRONMENT IN NZ

• In heated polyhouses, 16-30 c; humidity, higher 70% (day); 90 % (night), plant grown in volcanic soil, sprinkler system light intensity extremely high in New Zealand, reduced by 70% September-April • 103,483 mi2

METHOD UTILIZED IN NZ

• Pollination: early in the morning • Sep and Oct: photoperiod 11-13 hrs • No emasculations before flower opening • Opening flower w knife, stigma and anthers prodded; remove anthers w scissor, apply donor parent over stigma

Photo and diagram adapted from: Heliconia Society International. 2015. METHOD UTILIZED IN PR

• In the backyard, very rustic conditions • Emasculation of males, pollen collected, under refrigeration 5 degree. • Prior to pollination, Rosado prepared small plastic tube with pollen inside, pressed on the stigma under high humidity close to 100% in the mountains of Corozal, Puerto Rico. • Started in 2012…..first hybrid 2017 • 3,515 mi2 PARENTS AND HYBRID PUERTO RICO Dr. Abreu removing of hybrid, 4/17/19 Corozal, PR Photo: A. Sotomayor Ríos FINAL COMMENTS

• For a long time, breeders and heliconia enthusiasts tried unsuccessfully to hybridize heliconia • The manual crossing techniques developed in New Zealand, and in Puerto Rico should be considered one of the most important achievements in the improvement of heliconias through breeding.

ATLANTIC OCEAN - ISLA VERDE, PR