Color Dominance in Encyclia crosses Question

[Paul]

Color dominance can be rather complex issue, I know, and it does not always follow the patterns we might expect. For example, in catts, lavender tends to be the dominant color so even crosses involving a dark red or dark purple flower with a lavender flower usually results in progeny with lavender flowers. However, I am not knowledgeable as to the levels of color dominance involving Encyclia and their hybrids.

Many Encyclia have flowers with a marked amount of brown in them. So if crossed with a flower of a different color (whether another Encyclia or a Cattleya), what is the likelihood of the brown showing up in the progeny (either as an outright brown or a "muddying" of the progeny's coloration)? And realizing this may depend upon what the coloration of that other flower is, would anyone have a breakdown of color dominance combinations?

In any catt-encyc hybrids I have seen, the encyc flower form always dominates (or at least has a very strong influence) and I have noticed that the color of the catt parent typically comes through. However I am woefully ignorant of whether this is merely due to the hybridizer's selecting an Encyclia species as a parent which has coloration similar to the catt parent used, or if alba varieties of the particular Encyclia are used to insure the only color input is from the catt, or if it is more directly a matter of color dominance.

[Gage]

Often times, but not always, breeders have preferred using the alba encyclias for making crosses. Personally, I appreciate the rusty red and brown tones coming through in hybrids, deepening any purples, pinks, reds. I would think that the colors of encyclias have generally the same influence to their progeny as the colors of any other Cattleya type would. I have heard that certain colors in cattleyas will cancel each other out or create yellow coloring, but I can't remember which did what.