Sinningia 'Texas Zebra'

1. Hybridization with 'Texas Zebra'
2. Feature table

S. 'Texas Zebra' is a hybrid created by Dale Martens.  It is S. 'California Gold' (an early Martens hybrid) x (eumorpha x striata).  Since 'California Gold' has some eumorpha in it, there is quite a bit of eumorpha in 'Texas Zebra', and this shows in the leaves and in the relative openness of the corolla tube.

This handsome hybrid has dramatically striped flowers and a compact growth habit.  This makes it a good candidate for growing and for further hybridization.

Hybridization with 'Texas Zebra'

I applied pollen from my hybrid S. 'Peninsula Belle' to S. 'Texas Zebra' and got a fruit (there is a picture of it).  I sowed the seed in January 2006, and some of the seedlings survived to bloom.

The top flower in this picture is Sinningia 'Peninsula Belle'.  The remaining five are S. 'Texas Zebra' x 'Peninsula Belle'.

The second flower (first of the TZ x PB flowers) is very eumorpha-like.  It is almost pure white, with only a couple of very faint purple lines on the lobes.  It and #3 are also the largest.  The stamens, style, and stigma are also the same brilliant white.

The third and fourth flowers from the top most resemble S. 'Texas Zebra', with heavy striping on the corolla lobes.  The third is about the same size as the pure white flower.  Unlike #4, it has a yellow area on the base of the throat, which it presumably inherited from 'Texas Zebra' (and ultimately from S. eumorpha), since 'Peninsula Belle' has no yellow (nor do either of its parents).  The style is pale purple, and the stigma is outlined in dark purple, a nice effect, and the only one of these flowers to exhibit that trait.

The fifth flower is a pale lavender pink with very faint stripes.  The stigma is the same color.

The sixth and last flower is almost as large as #2 and #3.  There are some distinct but low-contrast stripes on the lower lobes.  The filaments (stamen stalks), style, and stigma are all pale violet.

Because all the ancestors of these plants are rather closely related, it comes as no surprise that the plants are fertile.  A couple have selfed.