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Fertility, sterility and crossability within the genus Dieffenba'hia
R. J. Henny
Agricultural Research Center Apopka :
ARC-A Research Report RH-82-22

Breeding Dieffenbachia is a relatively new field of research and`'d .. ..;
one with potential of providing new commercial cultivars in addition
to important data concerning genetics of foliar variegation. Recent
studies have provided information necessary to obtain maximum seed
production (1, 2, 4) and induce flowering (3). The single remaining
barrier to hybridization involves sterility in collected stock plants
or in naturally and artificially produced hybrids. Knowledge of the
fertility or sterility of parental plants to be used in a breeding
program, as well as their subsequent hybrids, is critical to anyone
interested in pursuing Dieffenbachia breeding. This paper is a summary
of results obtained at the Agricultural Research Center-Apopka regarding
fertility and sterility of 34 breeding lines of Dieffenbachia and their
hybrids.

Twelve of the 34 species, cultivars or hybrids of Dieffenbachia
screened during the past 5 years have proven to be sterile (Table 1),
while 22 are fertile (Table 2). There is sufficient variation in foliar
and petiole color, growth habit, suckering, leaf shape and size in the
fertile plants to allow development of many unique combinations of
characters. To date, there have been no results indicating the presence
of other natural breeding barriers; all fertile plants intercross
readily. However, D. maculata 'Baraquiniana', D. m. angustior
lancifolia,and D. m. angustior angustifolia rarely yield seed when used
as female but make good pollen parents. This has not been a problem in

Table 1. Sterile Dieffenbachia species, cultivars and hybrids.

D. amoena D. maculata
D. amoena 'Tropic Snow' D. m. 'Jenmannii'
D. x Bausei D. m. 'Rudolph Roehrs'
D. x memorial Corsii D. m. 'San Antonio'
D. x Reginae D. m. 'Superba'
D. x Leonae D. 'Janet Weidner'

Table 2. Fertile Dieffenbachia species, cultivars and hybrids.

D. maculata 'Perfection' D. fourneri
D. m. 'Compacta' D. humilis
D. m. 'Camille' D. oestedii
D. m. 'Hoffmannii' D. sequine
D. m. 'Baraquiniana' D. leopoldii
D. m. angustior lancifolia D. x splendens
D. m. angustior angustifolia D. sp. 'Dwarfs'y
D. sp. 'Rex' types z D. wallisii
D. sp. 'Wilson's Delight'
ZFour distinct cultivars.
YThree distinct cultivars.

breeding since most desirable horticultural traits appear to be inherited
through either the male or female parent. In other words, using a parent
as male or female does not influence the type of offspring acquired.

The progeny produced from crossing two parents is termed the Fl
progeny. Intercrossing Fl seedlings produces F2 offspring in which the
most variation is normally found. Normally, one must produce the F2
progeny to accurately determine the genetic basis of any desirable or
undesirable trait. Fertility in the F1 offspring is essential. Unfor-
tunately, the Fl progeny may be sterile and eliminate opportunity to
reach the F2. This usually occurs when the original parents are distantly
related or from 2 species. Examples include the interspecific hybrids
D. x memorial Corsii and D. x Bausei (Table 1). Reasons for sterility
of the other plants in Table 1 may also be due to their hybrid back-
ground although we have no supportive information at this time. Maximum
progress can be achieved when using plants which produce fertile F2 progeny.
Results of crossing a single common parent (D. maculata 'Perfection')
with several other species and cultivars and the resulting sterility or
fertility in the F1 progeny are presented in Table 3. Five F1 progenies
proved to be sterile and 13 were fertile. These results are important
as they indicate that breeding Dieffenbachia can normally be extended
into the F2 generation where maximum seedling variation can be expected.

-2-

Table 3. A listing of Dieffenbachia species and cultivars which have
been crossed with D. maculata 'Perfection'.

Plants producing fertile F]
hybrids.
D. maculata 'Hoffmannii'
D. m. 'Camille'
D. m. 'Compacta'
D. 'Fourneri'
D. oerstedii
D. sp. 'Rex' types
D. sp. 'Dwarfs'y
D. sp. 'Wilson's Delight'

Plants producing sterile Fl
hybrids.
D. maculata 'Baraquiniana'
D. m. angustior lancifolia
D. m. angustior angustifolia
D. seguine
D. humilis

ZFour distinct forms collected in Costa Rica.
YThree distinct forms.

Sufficient variation may be found in the Fl to allow selection of
new types and crosses should not be eliminated from consideration because
of the subsequent fertility or sterility of the F1 progeny alone.

Literature Cited

1. Henny, R. J. and E. M. Rasmussen.
pollen. Foliage Digest 3:7.

1980. Storage of Dieffenbachia

2. Henny, R. J. and E. M. Rasmussen. 1980. Increasing seed
production in Dieffenbachia. Foliage Digest 3:15-16.

3. Henny, R. J. and E. M. Rasmussen. 1980. Controlling flowering in
Dieffenbachia with gibberellic acid. Foliage Digest 3:5.

4. Henny, R. J. and E. M. Rasmussen. 1980. A guide for hybridizing
Dieffenbachia. ARC-Apopka Research Report RH-80-11.