| Hime-sasanqua: Parent stock of fragrant camellias |
 Crossing of camellias is becoming popular as a gardening hobby. Efforts are being made to introduce a variety of yellow, orange and purple flowers and autumn blooms, to create lovely large ones with thick, long-lasting petallage, to increase resistance to cold climate, and most of all, to produce a wide variety of perfumed camellias. Species commonly used for crossing is "Hime-sasanqua." Indigenous to the Ryukyu Archipelago, it belongs to the camellia family despite its name. Breeders hope that the sweet, plum-like scent of the Hime-sasanqua will be handed down to the next generation of camellias. The most common hybridizing method is pollination, but crossing camellias with Camellia sasanqua is not easy because although the two are of the same family, the number of chromosome is different. How natural crossing can occur is still a mystery. On the other hand, the highly fragrant Hime-sasanqua actually belongs to the camellia family and in spite of its name, hybridizing is possible. "Fragrant Pink", a camellia famous for its fragrant qualities, is one of its successfully-bred offsprings. |
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