diff --git a/Theriapolis.Godot/Scenes/Steps/StepSpecies.cs b/Theriapolis.Godot/Scenes/Steps/StepSpecies.cs
index afaaffd..865d2d9 100644
--- a/Theriapolis.Godot/Scenes/Steps/StepSpecies.cs
+++ b/Theriapolis.Godot/Scenes/Steps/StepSpecies.cs
@@ -7,9 +7,11 @@ namespace Theriapolis.GodotHost.Scenes.Steps;
 
 /// <summary>
 /// Step II — Species. Direct port of <c>StepSpecies</c> in
-/// <c>src/steps.jsx</c> plus the Phase 6.5 hybrid extension: when
-/// <see cref="CharacterDraft.IsHybrid"/> is true the step shows two
-/// stacked grids, one filtered by SireCladeId and one by DamCladeId.
+/// <c>src/steps.jsx</c> plus the Phase 6.5 hybrid extension. Hybrid mode
+/// uses a single unified grid (M6.16) — sire and dam species lists are
+/// merged, and each card carries either a Sire or Dam toggle in its
+/// header matching the clade it belongs to (sire/dam clades are
+/// guaranteed disjoint by StepClade's parent-conflict rule).
 /// </summary>
 public partial class StepSpecies : VBoxContainer, IStep
 {
@@ -17,8 +19,7 @@ public partial class StepSpecies : VBoxContainer, IStep
     private VBoxContainer _purebredSection = null!;
     private VBoxContainer _hybridSection = null!;
     private GridContainer _purebredGrid = null!;
-    private GridContainer _sireGrid = null!;
-    private GridContainer _damGrid = null!;
+    private GridContainer _hybridGrid = null!;
 
     // Phase B species trait + detriment pickers — single-pick per lineage.
     private VBoxContainer _pickSection = null!;
@@ -77,13 +78,14 @@ public partial class StepSpecies : VBoxContainer, IStep
         _hybridSection.AddThemeConstantOverride("separation", 16);
         AddChild(_hybridSection);
 
-        _hybridSection.AddChild(new Label { Text = "SIRE — Paternal Lineage", ThemeTypeVariation = "Eyebrow" });
-        _sireGrid = MakeGrid();
-        _hybridSection.AddChild(_sireGrid);
-
-        _hybridSection.AddChild(new Label { Text = "DAM — Maternal Lineage", ThemeTypeVariation = "Eyebrow" });
-        _damGrid = MakeGrid();
-        _hybridSection.AddChild(_damGrid);
+        _hybridSection.AddChild(new Label
+        {
+            Text = "Pick one species per parent lineage. Sire's clade species "
+                 + "are listed first, then Dam's — click any card to pick it.",
+            AutowrapMode = TextServer.AutowrapMode.WordSmart,
+        });
+        _hybridGrid = MakeGrid();
+        _hybridSection.AddChild(_hybridGrid);
 
         // Phase B species pickers: one trait + one detriment per parent.
         _pickSection = new VBoxContainer();
@@ -130,10 +132,7 @@ public partial class StepSpecies : VBoxContainer, IStep
 
         if (hybrid)
         {
-            RefreshGrid(_sireGrid, _draft.SireCladeId, _draft.SireSpeciesId,
-                spId => OnLineageSpeciesPicked("sire", spId));
-            RefreshGrid(_damGrid, _draft.DamCladeId, _draft.DamSpeciesId,
-                spId => OnLineageSpeciesPicked("dam", spId));
+            RefreshHybridGrid();
 
             SyncSpeciesPicks(_sirePickCol, ref _sirePicksBuiltFor, "sire",
                 _draft.SireSpeciesId, _draft.SireChosenSpeciesTrait, _draft.SireChosenSpeciesDetriment);
@@ -398,6 +397,35 @@ public partial class StepSpecies : VBoxContainer, IStep
             grid.AddChild(BuildCard(sp, sp.Id == selectedSpecies, onClick));
     }
 
+    /// <summary>
+    /// Hybrid mode: rebuild the unified grid with sire-clade species
+    /// followed by dam-clade species. Sire and dam clades are
+    /// guaranteed distinct by StepClade's parent-conflict rule, so the
+    /// species lists are disjoint — each card unambiguously belongs to
+    /// one lineage and a click on the card commits the pick. Full
+    /// rebuild on every Refresh is safe because Bind installs Refresh
+    /// as a deferred callback.
+    /// </summary>
+    private void RefreshHybridGrid()
+    {
+        foreach (var c in _hybridGrid.GetChildren()) c.Free();
+        AddHybridLineageBlock("sire", _draft.SireCladeId, _draft.SireSpeciesId);
+        AddHybridLineageBlock("dam",  _draft.DamCladeId,  _draft.DamSpeciesId);
+    }
+
+    private void AddHybridLineageBlock(string lineage, string cladeId, string selectedSpeciesId)
+    {
+        if (string.IsNullOrEmpty(cladeId)) return;
+        var clade = CodexContent.Clade(cladeId);
+        string headerLabel = (lineage == "sire" ? "SIRE" : "DAM")
+            + (clade is null ? "" : " — " + clade.Name.ToUpperInvariant());
+        _hybridGrid.AddChild(new Label { Text = headerLabel, ThemeTypeVariation = "Eyebrow" });
+
+        foreach (var sp in CodexContent.SpeciesOfClade(cladeId))
+            _hybridGrid.AddChild(BuildCard(sp, sp.Id == selectedSpeciesId,
+                spId => OnLineageSpeciesPicked(lineage, spId)));
+    }
+
     private static Control BuildCard(SpeciesDef sp, bool selected, System.Action<string> onClick)
     {
         var card = CodexCard.Make();
diff --git a/Theriapolis.Godot/Scenes/Widgets/PopoverLayer.cs b/Theriapolis.Godot/Scenes/Widgets/PopoverLayer.cs
index 8fc0f21..04f6587 100644
--- a/Theriapolis.Godot/Scenes/Widgets/PopoverLayer.cs
+++ b/Theriapolis.Godot/Scenes/Widgets/PopoverLayer.cs
@@ -46,18 +46,33 @@ public partial class PopoverLayer : CanvasLayer
     {
         Layer = 100;
         BuildPopover();
+        // Theme inheritance walks Control descendants only — CanvasLayer is
+        // a plain Node, so it breaks the propagation chain from the Wizard
+        // Control above. _Ready is bottom-up, so the parent Wizard hasn't
+        // assigned its codex theme yet — defer the lookup until parent's
+        // _Ready has run, then pull its theme onto the popup directly.
+        CallDeferred(MethodName.InheritParentTheme);
+    }
+
+    private void InheritParentTheme()
+    {
+        if (GetParent() is Control parentControl && parentControl.Theme is not null)
+            _popup.Theme = parentControl.Theme;
     }
 
     private void BuildPopover()
     {
         // Ignore so clicks/scroll/hover all pass through to whatever's
         // beneath. The popover is purely a visual readout; the chip
-        // owns the lifecycle entirely.
+        // owns the lifecycle entirely. ThemeTypeVariation pulls the
+        // CodexPopover stylebox (parchment bg2 + gild border + rounded
+        // corners + soft shadow) defined in CodexTheme.
         _popup = new PanelContainer
         {
             Visible = false,
             MouseFilter = Control.MouseFilterEnum.Ignore,
             ZIndex = 100,
+            ThemeTypeVariation = "CodexPopover",
         };
         AddChild(_popup);
 
@@ -66,19 +81,29 @@ public partial class PopoverLayer : CanvasLayer
         _popup.AddChild(v);
 
         var nameRow = new HBoxContainer();
-        nameRow.AddThemeConstantOverride("separation", 8);
+        nameRow.AddThemeConstantOverride("separation", 10);
         v.AddChild(nameRow);
 
-        _titleLabel = new Label();
+        // Display-serif title at H3 size (20px) — pulls the trait name
+        // out of the body copy below.
+        _titleLabel = new Label { ThemeTypeVariation = "H3" };
         nameRow.AddChild(_titleLabel);
 
-        _tagLabel = new Label { Visible = false };
+        // Mono uppercase tag label, vertically centred against the title.
+        _tagLabel = new Label
+        {
+            Visible = false,
+            ThemeTypeVariation = "Eyebrow",
+            VerticalAlignment = VerticalAlignment.Center,
+            SizeFlagsVertical = Control.SizeFlags.ShrinkCenter,
+        };
         nameRow.AddChild(_tagLabel);
 
         _descLabel = new Label
         {
             AutowrapMode = TextServer.AutowrapMode.WordSmart,
             CustomMinimumSize = new Vector2(220, 0),
+            ThemeTypeVariation = "CardBody",
         };
         v.AddChild(_descLabel);
     }
@@ -91,10 +116,18 @@ public partial class PopoverLayer : CanvasLayer
         _tagLabel.Text = !string.IsNullOrEmpty(tag) ? tag.ToUpperInvariant()
                                                     : (detriment ? "DETRIMENT" : "");
 
-        // M6.3 default-theme tint: detriment popover gets a red modulate so
-        // it reads visually distinct from a regular trait. The proper
-        // codex StyleBox swap lands in the theming pass.
-        _popup.Modulate = detriment ? new Color(1f, 0.78f, 0.78f) : Colors.White;
+        // Detriment popover swaps to the seal-bordered stylebox via
+        // override; non-detriment clears the override so the default
+        // CodexPopover panel takes effect again.
+        if (detriment && _popup.HasThemeStylebox("panel_detriment", "CodexPopover"))
+        {
+            var box = _popup.GetThemeStylebox("panel_detriment", "CodexPopover");
+            _popup.AddThemeStyleboxOverride("panel", box);
+        }
+        else
+        {
+            _popup.RemoveThemeStyleboxOverride("panel");
+        }
 
         _popup.Visible = true;
         _popup.ResetSize();
diff --git a/Theriapolis.Godot/UI/CodexTheme.cs b/Theriapolis.Godot/UI/CodexTheme.cs
index 382bc90..d7b4b61 100644
--- a/Theriapolis.Godot/UI/CodexTheme.cs
+++ b/Theriapolis.Godot/UI/CodexTheme.cs
@@ -106,12 +106,19 @@ public static class CodexTheme
         cardSelected.ShadowOffset = new Vector2(0, 14);
         theme.SetStylebox("panel_selected", "Card", cardSelected);
 
-        // Popover frame — gild border + soft shadow. Matches .trait-hint.
+        // Popover frame — gild border + soft shadow + rounded corners.
+        // Matches .trait-hint, with a softer corner radius than the rest of
+        // the codex (cards/buttons use 2px sharp) so the floating reveal
+        // reads as a friendlier secondary surface.
         theme.SetTypeVariation("CodexPopover", "PanelContainer");
         var popover = new StyleBoxFlat
         {
             BgColor = p.Bg2,
             BorderColor = p.Gild,
+            CornerRadiusTopLeft = 14,
+            CornerRadiusTopRight = 14,
+            CornerRadiusBottomLeft = 14,
+            CornerRadiusBottomRight = 14,
             ContentMarginLeft = 16,
             ContentMarginRight = 16,
             ContentMarginTop = 14,
@@ -120,11 +127,14 @@ public static class CodexTheme
             ShadowSize = 18,
             ShadowOffset = new Vector2(0, 12),
         };
-        popover.SetBorderWidthAll(1);
+        popover.SetBorderWidthAll(2);
         theme.SetStylebox("panel", "CodexPopover", popover);
 
+        // Detriment swap — seal-red border drawn at 3px so the warning reads
+        // unambiguously against the parchment bg even at a glance.
         var popoverDetriment = (StyleBoxFlat)popover.Duplicate();
         popoverDetriment.BorderColor = p.Seal;
+        popoverDetriment.SetBorderWidthAll(3);
         theme.SetStylebox("panel_detriment", "CodexPopover", popoverDetriment);
 
         // Pill — small trait/skill chip. Mirrors .trait-chips .t-name from