The very fruitful Jatujak Wednesday Morning Meetings cum teach-ins among ornamental plant growers and breeders started by Dr. Surawit Wannakrairoj produced another horticultural wonder. What started as a dialogue between the ornamental plant growers trying to market their produce with the help of Kasetsart University has evolved into developmental projects and forum for plant breeders. Their most recent creations are intergeneric hybrids of Sansevieria and Dracaena.
Arguing that only leaf thickness as the dividing line between the Genus Sansevieria and Genus Dracaena is weak in taxonomic perspective, the breeders deduced that the two genera might just interbreed. Interbreed it did. Two grower-breeders tried this radical hybridization scheme and came up with the intergenerics.
This development will rock the taxonomic world in the near future and might result in revision of the two Genera.
The intergenerics acquired all the positive attributes of the parents. The hybrids have inherited the graceful rosette characteristics of Dracaena and the thickness of Sansevieria. Variegated Dracaena fragrans cv. Massangeana gave a variegated hybrid.
To increase the frequency of takes in this unusual breeding methodology; Dr. Surawit is suggesting the use of embryo rescue techniques at the same time propagating the hybrids in laboratory to create the international marketing volume that the Thais are focusing on.