Monkey puzzle question

Discussion in 'Araucariaceae' started by Monkeypunch, Jan 6, 2019.

  1. Monkeypunch

    Monkeypunch New Member

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    My monkey puzzle appears to be one of what may have been a twin at some point. There's a stump beside it with the same bark. It's all dried up. Last month I noticed 2 male cones up near top. This tree has mostly female cones. And is producing multiple twin seedlings. Is this normal? My friend in Washington breeds them. He grows 1000's and gets mostly 2 cotyledons per seedling. He grew 3 out of 3500 with 3 cotyledons. And 1 twin out of 3500. He believes the 3 cotyledons indicate being female. And the 2 cotyledons being male? My twins mostly have 3 and 4 cotyledons. Does anyone think he's possibly discovered how to identify gender? Obviously, only decades would prove theory. But still, interesting observations.
     
    Last edited: Jan 6, 2019
  2. Michael F

    Michael F Paragon of Plants Forums Moderator 10 Years

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    If it was true, it would lead to a highly imbalanced sex ratio of 3497 males : 3 females . . . so I think it's pretty safe to conclude it isn't true :-)

    Monoecious Monkey-puzzles do occur from time to time, but are scarce (I know of one around here). Maybe you could hypothesize that the tricot seedlings develop into monoecious trees, but I'd suspect it's not related.
     
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  3. Monkeypunch

    Monkeypunch New Member

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    Interesting. Thank you.
     

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