Is Epiphyllum self fertile?

[kapitän kamasutra]

I found a fruit on a Epi cutting in a nursery. It is probably the Epiphyllum guatemalense 'Curly Kai' cultivar. It was the only Epiphyllum or cactus in flowering age they had around there. I was asking the owner if he has any other Epiphyllum cactus, but he saied no, and he saied I was mistaking it is a cactus eighter, he saied its a fern...or a succulent...a succulent fern...oh well.

He is reselling these plants from another nursery I guess. My question is if the plant has been pollinated by something else or can Epiphyllum self? My other Epi never sets fruits.

[zelly]

epi's aren't selfer's.

somewhere around here I think i posted pics of a fruit which is the result of crossing a red flowered epi with a yellow flowered epi

[shortly]

A few of the hybrids certainly are self fertile, although i suppose they are more Disophyllum than true Epiphyllum since they also have Disocactus in their genetics.

[kapitän kamasutra]

Interesting. I can't say if the plant was a hybrid or not, and I have not seen the flower. I hope the seeds are viable, I just did put some on soil. Maybe If they are selfed seeds from a hybrid some seedlings will grow into Disocactus phenos?

If they are indeed cross breed with another plant I'm hoping the curly mutation passes on to the seedlings.

[shortly]

The commonest cross seems to be Epiphyllum X Discocactus nelsonii so the over all form doesn't vary a lot between the two parents.

I'm not sure if nelsonii is the first choice because of its similarities to Epiphyllum or because of its flower color?

Selfed seed is usually small compared to out crossed seed & generally have low viability. And the seedlings often need extra care to get them past their first year.

[kapitän kamasutra]

Not sure if the seeds I have are small compared to other Epiphyllum, but compared to other cactus seeds they are rather big.

I will keep you posted if anything is growing out of these.

[Dreamwalker.]

Epiphyllum guatemalense ........nice epi................I tried self fertilising a common red flowering epi hybrid..................the fruit fell prematurely................I used cement re "

Producing Seeds with Self-Sterile Cacti - How to do it "

http://www.shaman-australis.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=30961

I also tried the cement x the epi with a Cleistocactus

strangely that seemed to work both ways.............just popped the Cleistocactus seed in the propagator a few days ago......no shooting yet...................still waiting for the epi fruit to mature................

the mother cleist x worked

the mother epi x didn't sprout

Edited October 6, 2014 by Dreamwalker.