Generational ID for mericlones?

[Louis_W]

Originally Posted by Ray

That brings out another facet of the discussion: what constitutes an “original clone” in the first place

Are a million new plants developed from the first extracted meristem all still an original clone? That process has a lot of opportunity for mutations,too.

I was thinking that "original" clones are all clones made from a seed grown plant. So there can be thousands of original clones. Then there are the generation of clones made from the meristem of a clone and so forth.

But i agree, there is room for mutation every step of the way.

[Jmoney]

I don't claim to be a scientific expert but the way I understand it, if you have say an awarded cattleya, collectors are going to place a premium on vegetative divisions of that plant because mutations are much less likely (and since we are talking about a superior plant, any mutation is more likely to cause inferior flowers and/or decreased vigor). Meristems are I believe generally made from the dormant eyes, and the quality of the mericlone run varies greatly depending on the amount of seedlings you try to generate (maybe other factors too). The more seedlings, the more (rapid) divisions among the cells, and a greatly enhanced mutation rate in this whole process. Of course, by convention all mericlones no matter the quality carry the cultivar name and award.

Sometimes the award goes to a mericlone and not the original plant. I believe an early mericlone of the famous Oconee 'Mendenhall' received the AM, not the original. And of course occasionally a clone is superior to the original, which is frequently but not always due to 2N->4N conversion.

For the majority of orchid growers this topic may not be that relevant, but for people for whom the hobby has turned into, how should I put it, an affliction it is highly important where the plant comes from!