I would love to have a few of your crosses! I have these if interested: chocolate silk akatsuki no umi bluish-purple flake kniola black and these from korea- pharbitis nil Choisy pharbitis nil L gloria I know I have some yellow ones also. I also may have a few others but will have to check. Thanks, Melinda

Oops! Sorry will post this question in the discussion Forum.

robiniaquest - I sent another mail via the GW...if it doesn't reach you it may be that you changed your e-mail since you signed up on here and need to update it in your info so it will be forwarded to your correct address... Send me an e-mail http://members.gardenweb.com/members/write.cgi?username=ron_convolvulaceae as I'd like to work something out relative to the seeds... Basically different species will not cross fertilize but many merchants and traders are unsure of how to identify species correctly and so mislabeling does occur e.g., Scarlett O'Hara should be a solid throat Ipomoea nil but Ipomoea purpurea Crimson Rambler is often mistakenly substituted,Ipomoea purpurea is often listed as Ipomoea tricolor and so on... Learning how to do simple hand pollination will help to insure that the flowers remain true to type and allow you to do intentional crosses which are >always fun to do... The sepals on the flowerbuds,at the outer flower base and on the seedpods are the most reliable key to identifying... Send or post any photos of flowers that you need an ID on... TTY,... Ron P.S. - Photo link to seedpod of Ipomoea purpurea which always reflexes to point towards the ground...in contrast to Ipomoea hederacea,I.nil and I.tricolor in which the seedpods remain erect... Here is a link that might be useful: Ipomoea purpurea reflexed seedpod pedicel

That is fascinating, Karyn. Since revealing the embryonic leaves inside the seed worked better after water was introduced to the seed, sounds like your seed might have begun the germination process. Those immature leaves you excavated do start the musing process - I remember reading long ago in the Washington Post Sunday Science section (eliminated all too soon) about a germinated tomato with just one set of embryonic leaves and the first embryonic root - it was cut in half, with the top part placed in a petrie dish with a phosphorescent bacterium, and likewise with the root in another petrie dish. The two halves grew up to be glowing tomato plants. I got the impression this process would not have been as effective with a plant past the embryonic stage. Can you imagine trying this with a moonflower? Soooo - anyone wonder what would happen if a morning glory seed or germinating seed or embryonic seedling were to be exposed to colchicine, which is the substance used to produce other plants with multiplied sets of chromosomes, like tetraploid daylilies? (I would imagine there could also be other substances or stimuli that could do this) I have no idea what would happen (or might be or might not be possible), but when ya consider those incredibly exotic, gorgeous Ipomoea nil mutants produced by the Japanese beginning around the early 1800s, it kinda gives ya the itch to meddle with Mother Nature... Joseph, when you were visiting Kyushu U in Japan earlier this year, I wish I had had the wit to ask you to ask Dr. Nitisaka if there had ever been any experiments doubling morning glory chromosomes, or if any of those Ipomoea nil mutants already had multiple sets of chromosomes. Did anyone say anything that could be repeated along these lines? Did Dr. Nitisaka ever say anything about how those mutants might have been created? what process or stimulant might have been used? I supposed accidents of nature could explain some... Karyn, sometimes I get one of those "helmet" seedlings, where the seed coat won't dislodge from the emerging cotyledon leaves. When I try to separate the two, it always amazes me how intertwined the seedcoat and embryonic leaf are - like an intricate double maze. Sounds like a well-spent afternoon, to me, Karyn. Karen