Like color, fragrance tends to be controlled by multiple genes. But think about roses... the newer ones, bred for other characteristics such as form and longevity, also tend to not be fragrant, while most of the old hybrids are very fragrant (the classic fragrant flower) In the orchid world, it's also the case with many of the newer Zygo hybrids - where most of the old classics are knock-your-socks-off fragrant, many of the newer ones aren't fragrant al all, or very little. It just seems to be very easy to lose that feature in complex hybrids.
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