Conditional self-pollination of Lithops
The editor will share some experiences about Lithops, a type of succulent plant. Conditional self-pollination of Lithops occurs, and the editor will introduce it next.
It was one afternoon in late November 2009 when the last Lithops in my house had bloomed for 2 or 3 days, and the pot of Four Seas Wave from the Aizoaceae family outside the window was blooming with orange-yellow flowers. Suddenly, I had an idea—why not try an intergeneric hybridization of Aizoaceae plants? I蘸ed some pollen from the Four Seas Wave with a calligraphy brush and applied it to the stigma of the Lithops flower, then I swiped the brush on the anthers of the Lithops and also applied the pollen on the stigma.
A few days later, the ovary of this Lithops gradually swelled, indicating successful pollination. However, I did not know whether this was a successful hybridization or just the completion of self-pollination of Lithops (as the operation was done in a closed balcony, excluding the possibility of insect pollination).
In May 2010, I harvested the seed pods from this Lithops. In the autumn of that year, I sowed the seeds from this pod, and after germination, the seedlings were the same as ordinary Lithops seedlings. Now, after more than a year, the small stones look the same as the parent plant in color and shape. For two years, I have always thought that Lithops can self-pollinate, but I didn't understand what role the pollen from the Four Seas Wave played.
The flowering season of Lithops comes once a year, and when I planned to try self-pollination again, I happened to see a document introducing self-pollination in Lithops. When I read the following paragraph, the mystery in my heart was finally solved:
“Sometimes, the pollen of other genera can also be used to promote self-pollination in Lithops, for example, Conophytum herreanthus (Meat Cone), Fenestraria rhopalophylla (Club Leaf Fenestraria), or Argyroderma delaetii (Silver Leaf Flower) pollen. These pollens can somewhat eliminate the restrictive factors of self-pollination in plants without participating in the genetic level (genetics) of the fertilization of the plant ovules, much like a catalyst or a trigger.” (Note: Original translator: aqua-neptune)
This indicates that using the pollen of certain genera from the Aizoaceae family as a trigger can enable a single Lithops plant to successfully complete self-pollination, propagate offspring, and ensure the purity of its lineage. The easiest to obtain pollen from a different genus is that of the Four Seas Wave from the Aizoaceae family. This is because the Four Seas Wave is easy to propagate, requires little management, and has a long flowering period. Recently, I tried self-pollination with the pollen of the Four Seas Wave (completely excluding the disturbance of insects carrying foreign pollen) on several plants (such as Li Hong Yu and Green Purple Merit), and the seed pod of Li Hong Yu in the pictures is the product of self-pollination.
The above text is for reference only.
The comprehensive knowledge of conditional self-pollination of Lithops introduced above () can hopefully help you.