Plants – Rose – Climber
Plant Patent
1999-10-18
2001-11-06
Campell, Bruce R. (Department: 1661)
Plants
Rose
Climber
Plant Patent
active
PP012185
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention comprises a new and distinct cultivar of Aechmea plant, hereinafter referred to by the cultivar name ‘Inca’. The genus Aechmea is a member of the family Bromeliaceae.
Aechmea comprises a genus of more than 168 species of evergeen perennials suitable for cultivation in the home or in the greenhouse. Aechmea may be terrestrial or epiphytic. For the most part, the species vary in diameter from 12 to 18 inches to 3 or 4 feet and have rosettes of spiny-edged leaves.
Flowers and bracts of Aechmea frequently have brilliant colors and may last for several months. The range of colors for Aechmea is generally from the yellow through orange but may also include pink, orange, red and red-purple. Tubular, three-petalled flowers may also appear but are usually short-lived.
Aechmea may be advantageously grown as pot plants for greenhouse or home use. Typically, the plants are shaded from direct sunlight; and the central, vaselike part of the leaf rosette is normally filled with water.
Aechmea is native to tropical America. Leaves of Aechmea are usually formed as basal rosettes which are still and entire and in several vertical ranks. Aechmea has terminal spikes or panicles which are often bracted with petals united in a tube longer than the calyx.
Asexual propagation of Aechmea is frequently done through the use of tissue culture practices. Propagation can also be from offshoots which can be detached from the mother plant and grown in an appropriate soil or bark mixture. Methods for cultivating and crossing of Aechmea are well known.
The new cultivar is a product of a planned breeding program and was originated from a hybridization made during such a program in Balsa, Costa Rica in 1988. The female or seed parent was
Aechmea tessmanii
. The male or pollen parent was
Aechmea flavo rosea×Aechmea fasciata
(spineless form). ‘Inca’ was discovered and selected as a fowering plant within the progeny of the stated cross by the inventor, Chester Skotak, Jr., in 1995, in a controlled environment in Balsa, Costa Rica.
‘Inca’ is characterized by its spineless leaves and tall, reddish-pink inflorescence, which keeps its color for several months. ‘Inca’ is distinguishable from the female parent by its lack of spines, smooth foliage surface, and smaller habitus (50-55 cm) than
Aechmea tessmanii
. ‘Inca’ has shorter foliage (30-35 cm) than that of
Aechmea tessmanii
(50-70 cm). ‘Inca’ is distinguishable from the male parents by its lack of spines. ‘Inca’ has a smooth foliage surface and its inflorescence is heavily branched when compared to
Aechmea fasciata
. ‘Inca’ has a larger habitus than
Aechmea flavo rosea.
Asexual reproduction of the new cultivar by tissue culture was performed by the inventor in a controlled environment in Balsa, Costa Rica in 1996, and has demonstrated that the combination of characteristics as herein disclosed for the new cultivar are firmly fixed and retained through successive generations of asexual reproduction.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
The following traits have been repeatedly observed and are determined to be basic characteristics of ‘Inca’ which in combination distinguish this Aechmea as a new and distinct cultivar:
1. Compact plant shape and large inflorescence;
2. Wide, green, tongue-shaped foliage that is suffused with white-grey color;
3. Arched foliage which decreases from the bottom to the top of the plant;
4. Foliage that has no spines on the leaf edge;
5. Large, long lasting, red-pink inflorescence which is heavily branched; and
6. Bracts with reddish-pink tinged tips on younger bracts and yellow tips on older bracts which make them distinctly visible.
‘Inca’ has not been observed under all possible environmental conditions. The phenotype of the new cultivar may vary significantly with variations in environment such as temperature, light intensity, and daylength, without any change in genotype.
Of the many commercial cultivars known to the present inventor, the most similar in comparison to ‘Inca’ are the cultivars ‘Friedericke’ (U.S. Plant Pat. No. 5,872) and Aechmea plant named ‘Maya’ (U.S. pending Plant Pat. Ser. No. 09/419,913). The arch and shape of the leaves and the white-grey suffusion on the leaf-surface of ‘Inca’ are similar to those of ‘Friedericke’. However, ‘Friedericke’ has a more compressed inflorescence whereas ‘Inca’ has a more developed inflorescence with a conical form. The color of the inflorescence of ‘Inca’ is red-pink with yellow accents whereas the inflorescence of ‘Friedericke’ is pinker in color. The basal bracts of ‘Inca’ cover one-third to one-half of the inflorescence, whereas the basal bracts of ‘Friedericke’ cover the whole inflorescence.
‘Inca’ and ‘Maya’ have a similar plant and leaf shape. However, the inflorescence of ‘Inca’ is more conical-shaped whereas the inflorescence of ‘Maya’ is more dome-shaped. The inflorescence of ‘Inca’ has a darker, red-pink color than the inflorescence of ‘Maya’.
Campell Bruce R.
Deroose Plants BVBA
Foley & Lardner
Hwu June
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