Rhododendron 'Anna', which is a Lem hybrid documented as 'Norman Gill' x 'The Honorable Jean Marie de Montague', has been determined to be a diploid using flow cytometry by
Dr. João Loureiro, Dr. Silvia Castro, José Cerca, and Mariana Castro
Plant Ecology and Evolution Group,
Centre for Functional Ecology,
Department of Life Sciences,
Faculty of Science and Technology,
University of Coimbra, Portugal.
'Anna' is both seed and pollen fertile.
'Anna' is the seed parent of 'Lem's Monarch' and 'Point Defiance', which were determined to be a tetraploids using flow cytometry by Dr. Thomas Ranney, J.R. Jones, and Nathan Lynch. This may indicate that 'Anna' occasionally throws unreduced gametes.
'Anna' is the pollen parent of 'Lem's Cameo', which was also determined to be a diploid by the Coimbra based research team.
'The Honorable Jean Marie de Montague', which is the pollen parent of 'Anna', is suspected of throwing more unreduced gametes than is normal for a diploid elepidote.
Summary of Ploidy Levels
Diploid 'Anna',
Diploid 'Lem's Cameo',
Diploid 'Norman Gill',
Diploid 'The Honorable Jean Marie de Montague',
Triploid 'Markeeta’s Flame',
Triploid 'Markeeta’s Prize'
Source: Whitney Nursery
John and Sally Perkins
