Another split face mutant
Here’s another mutant from a recent white complex cross out of the Orchid Zone. The cross is called “Icy Icy Wind”, but this particular specimen has some interesting stuff going on, reminiscent of the ‘freak’ described here.
This one is a little different from the ‘freak’, though. ‘Freak’ was clearly an example of sectoral chimerism, and you could see the different pigmentation effects on the leaves. It seems to me that ‘Freak’ was lucky to have the color split right down the middle. I don’t think the color will be split in the same spot on future bloomings, and the pigmentation patterns on the leaf would support that view.
This mutant P. Icy Icy Wind seems to me like it could actually be a germline mutation that might continue to breed this way. In ‘Freak’, it was presence of a layer of pigmented cells that happened to not be present on exactly half the flower (and the rest of the plant tissue for that growth). Here, nothing on the leaves or spike betrays any sectoral chimerism, and the difference has to do with the intensity of pigmentation rather than presence or absence.
Anyways, I’m just speculating here — we’ll know when it blooms again. (Thanks to SK at the Orchid Zone for the pic!)
