Newbie needs help

Bought these seed this spring off ebay. This is supposed to be a mutant japanese morning glory, The seeds produced the normal type flower and this mutant type. I have misplaced the specific info. If anyone could help with the ID I would be grateful!

Here is how it was listed, but no idea if this is REALLY the correct name of this MG.

Willow-Dianthus
Mutant
Willow Leaves Lilac Japanese Morning Glory

Emma

I think that the base species from which the Japanese mutant type morning glories are produced is Ipomoea nil. I don't think the mutants grow true though, so seed will not come out like the parent. I think the individual mutants often come from individual people who are growing them as a hobby and are thus not necessarily recognized cultivars, but I could be wrong.

I suppose that doesn't really answer your question though! Sorry!

Here is a database of mutants of Ipomoea nil. There are linked pictures. Some of them have willow in the name (see slides 80-100 or so) but none are listed as lilac, but maybe if you look through the pictures you will find it?

http://protist.i.hosei.ac.jp/asagao/yoneda_db/e/slides/slide_list.html

Hi Hillbilly_Gran,

Mutant Japanese Morning Glories usually do not have names so much as they are given descriptions listing the mutations carried by the system (seed lot). Your pictured plant clearly shows the willow type leaves caused by the maple-willow mutation. This mutation also causes the flower to split like yours. When this mutation is combined with the duplicate mutation, the split flower has many more elements, making it look like the dianthus flower. Both of these flower types are sterile so they produce no seed.

The plants from this seed purchase that have the "normal" flowers, are usually fertile and are the plants used for seed production. Each individual plant may or may not carry the desireable mutations, so the seed is usually segregated by plant and the various seed lots are tested (sample grown out!) to determine if the lot of seed carries the mutations. This way you know which seed lots to keep and which lots are not expected to produce mutation combinations.

I think that the description provided by Emma is appropriate for your group of plants. If you save the seed from the normal flowers, they may produce more of the single willow leaved/dianthus flowered plants as pictured, or the double dianthus flowered plants or plants that produce a circular flower (not split by the maple-willow mutation) that is doubled to make it look more like a peony!

Enjoy the unique plants that you have and have fun!

Arlan

Arlan - ditto

CMoxon - There is no official Morning Glory registry so there is no official body to recognize any(!) MG cultivars...

If enough people recognize a name it tends to become 'official'...
although aside from Dr.Yoneda(available in the universal scientific language of English) and Kyushu University(not yet fully accessable in the universal scientific language) the 'amateurs' here on this forum and who contribute to the PlantFiles here
http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/adv_search.php?searcher%5Bcommon%5D=&searcher%5Bfamily%5D=Convolvulaceae&searcher%5Bgenus%5D=Ipomoea&searcher%5Bspecies%5D=&searcher%5Bcultivar%5D=&searcher%5Bhybridizer%5D=&search_prefs%5Bblank_cultivar%5D=&search_prefs%5Bsort_by%5D=genus&images_prefs=both&Search=Search
who grow MG's as a 'hobby' have done more to clarify the features of what MG's are being cultivated than any other single group that I am aware of...
e.g., the suppossed 'professional' organizations like the AHS and the RHS are in a total backwards shambles when it comes to using anything resembling accurate binomials or other accurate information regarding Convolvulaceae species in cultivation...

The MG forum here in combination with the information in the PlantFiles has influenced a large number of other websites to 'get their act together'...e.g., when the USDA realized that the PlantFiles here had more accurate details than their site did they finally made the updated corrections and have been 'trying' (!) to add better ID photos than we do...everyone 'knows' that 'professionals' should have a 'higher quality' presentation than any' amateurs'...

Cheers and Congratulations to all(!) the people who contribute here...it has and continues to influence the entire world...

TTY,...

Ron

Thanks everyone for your input!! The non-mutant plants are thriving and hopefully will set seed, I will be happy to share!! They seem to require a longer growing season than other MG's, but they are potted and can be taken into the greenhouse to ripen the seed. Out of the purchased seed, the ratio of normal to mutant was 60/40. I will test the seed lots to see if there are mutants. Although was unable to segregate individual plants due to our property being up for sale and "just in case" growing them out in pots so they wouldn't have to be left behind.
Tommie

You can take a small art paint brush and hand fertilize the non-mutant flowers to make sure they set seed.

I grew seven plants this year from seeds purchased as lavender willow. My journal of pictures of the plants can be viewed here: http://davesgarden.com/community/journals/vbc/atenkley/44333/

I had a variety of plant and flower types from these seeds.....maple, maple-willow, delicate and normal..including two plants with pink flowers. Who knows what the parentage of these seeds...time will tell from future generations of the seeds collected this year!

Arlan

They are gorgeous! Maybe I'll be so lucky next year!! I only had the 2 types, 6 blue or lavender with the maple leaf and 4 willow leaf single shredded.

Hi Tommie, those are some way cool flowers you are growing! Does the vine make a lot of flowers?

Joseph

would like to revive this thread from more than a year ago...

this is onsale on ebay now which I think is a pretty reasonable price for 16 seeds (I like alot of seeds for the mutants so there are more genetic diversity in the sample).

I've been reading up on Imai's (sorry if I keep using him as a source...) article on willow-leafed mgs and he stated that there are two different types of parental origin of willow-leafed mgs: those from cordate and those from tri-lobed/orthodox.

The willow-leafed plants coming from a cordate parentage are those leaves showing no little lobes on the side like those pictures illustrated on this thread of the willow-dianthus lilac.

Those of tri-lobed parentage have little lobes on the side: http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/fp.php?pid=5483793

Not sure if this perspective still stands today as this info is about 80 years old =/.

Eliz