× ''Potinara'', abbreviated Pot in the horticultural trade, is the
nothogenus comprising those intergeneric
hybrid
Hybrid may refer to:
Science
* Hybrid (biology), an offspring resulting from cross-breeding
** Hybrid grape, grape varieties produced by cross-breeding two ''Vitis'' species
** Hybridity, the property of a hybrid plant which is a union of two dif ...
s of
orchid
Orchids are plants that belong to the family Orchidaceae (), a diverse and widespread group of flowering plants with blooms that are often colourful and fragrant.
Along with the Asteraceae, they are one of the two largest families of flowering ...
s which have ''
Brassavola'', ''
Cattleya'', ''
Laelia'' and ''
Sophronitis'' as parent genera.
It can easily be imagined that a combination of all the desirable qualities of the four genera would be an outstandingly handsome thing. However, plants in which all the desired qualities show up occur in only a small proportion of the offspring, and the percentage of plants homozygous for all qualities even less often. A rather extensive breeding program would be necessary to achieve the ideal results. Many lovely combinations do occur in × ''Potinara'' crosses, although relatively few have been made.
The search for a way to breed large red hybrids has been given a new boost with the discovery of ''
Cattleya milleri
''Cattleya'' () is a genus of orchids from Costa Rica south to Argentina. The genus is abbreviated C in trade journals.
Description
Epiphytic or terrestrial orchids with cylindrical rhizome from which the fleshy noodle-like roots grow. Pseu ...
''. It is hoped that this species will not offer the genetic difficulties that have plagued hybridists using ''Sophronitis''. Some encouraging results have already been achieved.
[Registration of Brassocattleya Richard Mueller as '' Brassavola nodosa'' × ''Cattleya milleri'' http://apps.rhs.org.uk/horticulturaldatabase/orchidregister/orchiddetails.asp?ID=60888]
History
In 2008, the genus ''
Sophronitis'' was merged into ''Cattleya'',
making such nothogenera as × ''Potinara'',
× ''Sophrolaeliocattleya'' and
× ''Sophrocattleya'' no longer current, but only of historical interest. At the same time, several species of ''Cattleya'' which had been widely used in hybridization were moved into the new genus ''
Guarianthe
''Guarianthe'', abbreviated ''Gur.'' in the horticultural trade, is a small genus of epiphytic orchids, growing in wet forests in Mexico, Central America, Colombia, Venezuela and Trinidad. It was separated from the bifoliate ''Cattleya
''Cat ...
''. Two species of ''Brassavola'', ''B. digbyana'' and ''B. glauca'' had also been moved into the new genus ''
Rhyncholaelia
''Rhyncholaelia'', abbreviated ''Rl.'' in the horticultural trade, is a genus of orchids (family Orchidaceae), comprising two species. They are distributed in Mexico, Guatemala, Belize, and Honduras. Both species were originally published in '' ...
'' earlier in the decade. As a result, greges which were once classified in × ''Potinara'' are now found in several genera and nothogenera.
Footnotes
{{DEFAULTSORT:Potinara
Orchid nothogenera
Laeliinae
Historically recognized angiosperm taxa