Thursday 13 January 2005

Meconopsis x finlayorum


Taxonomy

This is a hybrid between M. integrifolia and M. quintuplinervia and produced in the garden by the Knox-Finlay’s at Keillour Castle in Perthshire. It has been produced since by the Stone’s at Fort William who named it Askival Ivory and those illustrated were produced by the webmaster. They were perennial and of perfect size, balance and shape. I have tried for many years to cross M. integrifolia with M. punicea to produce a miniature pink plant but never have had seed set. There are few wild hybrids (all mentioned) but dozens produced in cultivation. These have been made between all sorts of unlikely species including reputedly what was M.cambrica. These hybrids occur between plants where chromosomes do not match including crosses between M. betonicifolia and both the evergreen monocarpics and the ‘horridula’ group. The progeny is usually sterile but they can sometimes be perennial when at least one parent was monocarpic. Hybrids may be more common in the wild than we think when several species grow together.

Cultivation

This was a delightful species and could be divided. I am not sure if it is currently in cultivation.