Rhododendron 'Hurricane', which is a William Whitney hybrid documented as 'Mrs Furnivall' x 'Anna Rose Whitney', 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.
Rhododendron 'Hurricane' has as ancestors 'Broughtonii', 'Cynthia', 'Pink Pearl', 'Countess of Derby', 'Mrs Furnivall', and 'Anna Rose Whitney'.
In the case of 'Hurricane', a diploid 'Mrs. Furnivall' crossed with a triploid 'Anna Rose Whitney' produced a diploid indicating 'Anna Rose Whitney' most likely contributed only a 1x gamete (13 chromosomes) to 'Hurricane'.
Summary of Ploidy Levels
Diploid 'Hurricane',
Diploid 'Mrs. Furnivall',
Triploid 'Anna Rose Whitney',
Triploid 'Broughtonii',
Triploid 'Cynthia',
Triploid 'Pink Pearl',
Tetraploid 'Countess of Derby'
Source: Whitney Nursery
John and Sally Perkins
