Rhododendron 'Legend', which is a Jim Barlup hybrid documented as 'Point Defiance' x 'Lem's Monarch', has been determined to be a tetraploid 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 'Legend' has as ancestors 'Anna', 'Norman Gill', 'The Honourable Jean Marie de Montague', 'Marinus Koster', 'Point Defiance', and 'Lem's Monarch'.
In the case of the tetraploid 'Legend', a tetraploid crossed with a tetraploid produced a tetraploid indicating that normal reduced meiosis most likely occurred for both parents. In other words, 'Legend' having 52 chromosomes received 26 chromosomes from the tetraploid 'Point Defiance' and 26 chromosomes from the tetraploid 'Lem's Monarch'.
Summary of Ploidy Levels
Diploid 'Anna',
Diploid 'Norman Gill',
Diploid 'The Honourable Jean Marie de Montague',
Tetraploid 'Legend',
Tetraploid 'Lem's Monarch',
Tetraploid 'Marinus Koster',
Tetraploid 'Point Defiance'
Source: Whitney Nursery
John and Sally Perkins
