Orchids

Dendrobium orchids are popular flowering potted plants and cut flowers around the world due to their flowering floriferousness, wide range in flower color, size, and shape, year-round availability, and lengthy post-harvest life. Both warm and cool temperature cultivars are grown from in vitro germinated seed or clones. Breeders have created polyploid cultivars (amphidiploids, triploids) which have greater flower number/raceme, larger flowers, and other valuable traits. Numerous genes have been identified in the genus with some sequenced genes being used to create transformants. Wide crosses are routinely used to create new genetic variability, as Dendrobium exhibit low levels of hybrid breakdown (endosperm-embryo incompatibility) and inbreeding depression. Crop ideotypes prescribe numerous traits for incorporation by plant breeders and geneticists, including flowering >1x/yr, enhanced shelf life, and simultaneous flowering of inflorescences.