Hi Dax - sorry, no, it wouldn't work like that - each ovule would be fertilised by a single pollen grain (which then blocks access for any others).

Resin

PS I thought dwarves always came in sets of seven? :-)

I don't get what you are asking about in regards to interspecific and intraspecific hybrids. An intraspecific hybrid is a cross between to varieties of the same species and is usually quite easy to do and have fertile offspring. An interspecific hybrid is a cross between two different species in the same genera and is usually not too difficult either and most of the time the result is also fertile, except in some larger genera with different sections or sub-genera where hybrids across those sections of sub-genera is very difficult(like Pinus).

Well kman04, it's my wording naturally.

Resin - I get it!

Thanks a roondo,

Dax

"...an interspecific hybrid...is usually not too difficult...." is very misleading, for two reasons. First, good technique is essential. If you want to make an artificial cross in 2007, you have to collect the pollen in 2006 or earlier, and keep it in storage. This usually means you will have to extract it under clean conditions, reduce the moisture content, freeze it, and test viability prior to use. Botch this and you can end up with mostly dead pollen.
Then you have to isolate the shoot tips on which the young seed cones will appear, usually with a bag of sausage casing or non-woven cloth. This requires that you can recognize them prior to cone emergence so you can bag them before they are contaminated with outside pollen, especially that of its own species. So you have to know the phenology of your mother tree and of nearby pollen-shedders.
Then you must apply the pollen to the cone while it is receptive -- in other words, the ovules are open to wind-dispersed pollen grains. This is usually done with a syringe or a brush. The brush method is much riskier for contamination by airborne pollens. A syringe may be hard to get where drug paraphernalia laws are dire.
If you get that far, you need to protect the pollinated cones from animals, and tag them so you know which ones they are. Pines require protection a year longer than other Pinaceae.
Second, if you end up with viable seed, you need to grow them in a designed test that includes seed of the two parent species as well, so you can prove you have hybrids. This is crucial, and failure to do it has led even professional geneticists astray. If you rely on morphological criteria for separation, you may need to wait several years for some of the criteria to be expressed. Using molecular criteria, needless to say, will require an established research lab. If you are unwilling to go through this rigorous procedure to determine that you really have successfully crossed the parent species, then your offspring are pretty worthless.

"...not too difficult...."? That's true only if you practice sloppy technique and don't care about the results.

Thanks for sharing Ron.

Regards,

Dax

My comments about difficulty weren't meant to be comments on procedures to artificially produce hybrids, but were meant to refer to the biological ease or difficulty such hybrids. Procedures for producing artificial hybrids can be as difficult and complex as the ones you described.