Overview
H. guatemalensis × undatus, cv. Cosmic Charlie
Other names: 2-S
Pollination: self-sterile
Cosmic Charlie is one of the hybrids created by the legendary Paul Thomson in his first batch of seedlings in a cross between Neitzel, a white-fleshed variety, and Rixford, a red-fleshed variety. This one was actually sold to me as Delight, another of Thomson’s creations, but the flesh was not pale enough for it to be Delight and upon further research I am quite confident I have Cosmic Charlie. My first fruit was a bit of a disappointment, tasting quite sour and with an almost too-smooth texture, but the second fruit was an improvement with added sweetness. Hopefully the fruit improves in the coming seasons, as they often sweeten with age.
The plant is extremely vigorous, perhaps the most vigorous of all my varieties thus far, quickly crowding out the other varieties around it. However, it still suffers in extreme heat like most varieties.
Buds
The buds of Cosmic Charlie start off as little yellow droplets, so bright that the intersection of the sepals is almost invisible. As the buds grow, they slowly lose this yellow colour in favour of a browner tinge, before finally turning fully green and opening up. This process takes a very typical amount of time of approximately three weeks. One key characteristic is the twisted stigma that reveals itself when the flower is about to open, as in the third picture.
Flowers
The flowers of this variety, although the typical white, are quite unique in that they don’t appear to open properly, instead curling in a circular fashion. Cosmic Charlie is the only variety I can find with flowers that look like this, and in combination with the twisted stigma are what make me think this is Cosmic Charlie.
The stigma protrudes well away from the anthers, making cross-pollination necessary.
Fruit
The ripening process for Cosmic Charlie was very typical until the point of ripening, when colour change was slow, and it was difficult to determine ripeness. The flesh became very soft, very quickly, though the fruit never appeared fully ripe nor tasted fully ripe. Hopefully the coming fruit can back up the cool name.
