Bridge cacti

[Inyan]

A bridge cross is essentially one that is done to enable you to breed desired traits from one cacti genus or species into another that can not be done via a straight cross. For instance, if I desire to cross Trichocereus x Lophophora... I may discover that this is not possible via several different means of mentor pollen, cut style, etc. Rather than give up or continue with this madness... You may discover that perhaps a particular Lobivia can be crossed to a certain Mammillaria. You may discover that Lophophora can be crossed to Mammillaria as has been previously documented. You may also see that this Lobivia can be crossed to Trichocereus. Its not hard to follow the bouncing ball and see that it is possible via a wide selection of crosses to eventually breed the desired traits from more than one species or genus into a single new hybrid. I've started this thread in hopes that some of the cacti giants that Lurk in here will post some relevant information. Relevant information is any known cross involving any active species with another species or genus. We can of course accept entries from anyone wishing to share relevant links to proposed crosses and I encourage everyone to post of known crosses. The idea is to come back and straighten out the results that ensue to create a master list of tried and tested crosses to shorten the time it may take to create some of these more novel hybrids. Anyone and everyone should post with any relevant information. We can straighten this out later and make it look nice and pretty... i.e. easier to follow. I'm relying on the cacti experts in here as well as the novices to all share a bit of research that they have done or are doing.

Lophophora (seed bearer hybrids)

Lophophora koehresii (seed bearer) x Lophophora fricii (pollen donor) =viable seed (courtesy information provided by KadaKuda)

Lophophora fricii (seed bearer) x Lophophora koehresii (pollen donor) = not enough data/attempts made to warrant ruling this one out... no seeds thus far. (courtesy information provided by KadaKuda)

L. diffusa (seed bearer) x Obregonia denegri (pollen donor) = pod produced... awaiting more information.

Mammillaria bocasana (pollen donor) .... notes on F1 seedlings: Body shape altered and seedling hybrid spines 3 x longer

Strombocactus hybrids... no species listed... no identifiable differences in F1 seedlings, possible parthenogenesis... F1 x F1 may yield determine validity of this cross or F1 x Strombocactus.

Turbinicarpus schwaarzii hybrids... red and green scales around buds, large flower, petals pointed

Turbinicarpus pseudomacrochele hybrids (pollen donor) ... "Beautiful or the color of body and blossom alike"... more details needed. Was the color different and how so?

All of the above information was given via the help of MS Cacti. Your help is always appreciated.

http://www.shaman-australis.com/forum/inde...showtopic=19832

Astrophytum (seed bearer)

Astrophytum. x Mammillaria. x Gymnocalycium... while not much information is given. It is understood that this means Astrophytum (seed bearer) x Mammillaria (pollen donor) = F1 A.M. The resulting F1 A.M. (seed bearer) was then crossed with Gymnocalycium (pollen donor).

http://www.lapshin.org/cultivar/N18/exp-e.htm

We need a list of other crosses attempted and or overlooked. The idea here is to present as much valid information as possible with the understanding that even the best of hybridizers makes mistakes. Open sharing can not be done and will not be done when a member feels like they have been castigated or might be castigated for any information they have shared. While it may seem absurd to someone to try a straight cross between Lophophora and Trichocereus both ways... has it been tried? How many times has it been tried? Did a pod form on either plant and if so was it aborted early? Sometimes the most absurd things turn out to be the very things that work or point us in a direction that will work. Try to keep an open mind and share what you have here guys. Links to sources are of course desired if and when possible. My idea is to move all of the relevant data once formed into one post which can be linked to this post for anyone wanting more specifics. Help me out guys. Knowledge is great, but it must be easily accessible and in a format that is easy to follow. Feel free to post any questions or relevant information in this thread. A cleaner thread will be made later. It is generally accepted that the above attempts were made via standard pollination techniques and so we can not rule out that more advanced techniques might yield better results.

Edited January 3, 2009 by Inyan

[Teotzlcoatl]

I'm so proud of you.

[Auxin]

In researching known hybrids something just seriously caught my eye. I hope its not discreditable

I've been looking for exploitable links between the south american Trichocereus species and north american cacti. I found some, and it crosses a mild tribe barrier which seems quite uncommon.

Here is a Helianthocereus (Trichocereus) huascha X `Echinocereus´ cross where a Trichocereeae tribe cactus was crossed with a Pachycereeae tribe species.

Link

It involving an unnamed Echinocereus on a site I dont know wasnt convincing then I found this one, a Cleistocactus strausii X Echinocereus poselgeri hybrid

Link

another Trichocereeae tribe cactus that was crossed with a Pachycereeae tribe species. Pachycereeae is found in north and central america and is probably the cousin of Trichocereeae so it wouldnt have astounded me if a colombian Trichocereeae had been bred with a honduran Pachycereeae but these crosses succeeded in connecting bolivian and argentinian relatives of sacred columnar cacti to mexican and american relatives of known hikuli species. It makes attempting crosses between active Trichocereus species and reportedly active Echinocereus species worthy of experimentation.

I'm still on the lookout for the more difficult exploitable links between tribes Pachycereeae and Cacteae (which contains some even more culturally significant cacti).

Edited January 4, 2009 by Auxin

[Inyan]

http://www.geocities.com/pride_lands/Liger_Tigon.html

Now, to me that is exciting. The fact that cacti can do this on the same or larger scale doesn't impress me nearly as much. Thanks for posting the above information though as it is a wealth of information Auxin.