Botanical designation: Bidens ferulifolia.
Cultivar denomination: ‘SUNBIDEVB 7’.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a new and distinct cultivar of Bidens plant, botanically known as Bidens ferulifolia and hereinafter referred to by the name ‘Sunbidevb 7’.
The new Bidens plant is a product of a planned breeding program conducted by the Inventor in Fukaya, Saitama, Japan. The objective of the breeding program is to create new compact and mounding Bidens plants with year-round flowering habit and numerous attractive inflorescences.
The new Bidens plant originated from a cross-pollination made by the Inventor in Fukaya, Saitama, Japan during the winter of 2015 of a proprietary selection of Bidens ferulifolia identified as code number 1513-2, not patented, as the female, or seed parent with a proprietary selection of Bidens ferulifolia identified as code number 2015-Y, not patented, as the male, or pollen, parent. The new Bidens plant was discovered and selected by the Inventor as a single flowering plant from within the progeny of the stated cross-pollination in a controlled greenhouse environment in Fukaya, Saitama, Japan in October, 2016.
Asexual reproduction of the new Bidens plant by vegetative cuttings in a controlled environment in Fukaya, Saitama, Japan since 2018 has shown that the unique features of this new Bidens plant are stable and reproduced true to type in successive generations.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Plants of the new Bidens have not been observed under all possible combinations of environmental conditions and cultural practices. The phenotype may vary somewhat with variations in environmental conditions such as temperature and light intensity, without, however, any variance in genotype.
The following traits have been repeatedly observed and are determined to be the unique characteristics of ‘Sunbidevb 7’. These characteristics in combination distinguish ‘Sunbidevb 7’ as a new and distinct Bidens plant:
- 1. Compact, upright to outwardly spreading and mounding plant habit.
- 2. Vigorous growth habit.
- 3. Freely branching habit.
- 4. Freely flowering habit.
- 5. Year-round flowering habit.
- 6. Relatively large inflorescences with reddish orange and bright yellow bi-colored ray florets.
- 7. Good garden performance.
Plants of the new Bidens differ primarily from plants of the female parent selection in ray floret color. Plants of the new Bidens have reddish orange and bright yellow bi-colored ray florets whereas plants of the female parent selection have yellow-colored ray florets with a red-colored horizontal stripe.
Plants of the new Bidens differ primarily from plants of the male parent selection in ray floret color. Plants of the new Bidens have reddish orange and bright yellow bi-colored ray florets whereas plants of the male parent selection have yellow-colored ray florets.
Plants of the new Bidens can be compared to plants of Bidens ferulifolia ‘Sunbidevb 2’, disclosed in U.S. Plant Pat. No. 27,703. In side-by-side comparisons, plants of the new Bidens differ primarily from plants of ‘Sunbidevb 2’ in the following characteristics:
- 1. Plants of the new Bidens are more compact than plants of ‘Sunbidevb 2’.
- 2. Plants of the new Bidens have smaller leaves than plants of ‘Sunbidevb 2’.
- 3. Plants of the new Bidens have larger inflorescences than plants of ‘Sunbidevb 2’.
- 4. Ray florets of plants of the new Bidens are reddish orange and bright yellow bi-colored whereas ray florets of plants of ‘Sunbidevb 2’ are yellow orange and bright orange red in color.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE PHOTOGRAPHS
The accompanying photographs illustrate the overall appearance of the new Bidens plant showing the colors as true as it is reasonably possible to obtain in colored reproductions of this type. Colors in the photographs may differ slightly from the color values cited in the detailed botanical description which accurately describe the colors of the new Bidens plant.
The photograph on the first sheet (FIG. 1) is a side perspective view of a typical flowering plant of ‘Sunbidevb 7’ grown in a container.
The photograph on the second sheet (FIG. 2) is a close-up view of a typical inflorescence and inflorescence bud of ‘Sunbidevb 7’.
DETAILED BOTANICAL DESCRIPTION
The aforementioned photographs and following observations and measurements describe plants grown in 18-cm containers during the summer in an outdoor nursery in Higashiomi, Shiga, Japan and under cultural practices typical of commercial Bidens production. During the production of the plants, day temperatures ranged from 20 C to 30 C and night temperatures ranged from 10 C to 20 C. Plants were three months old when the photographs and description were taken. In the following description, color references are made to The Royal Horticultural Society Colour Chart, 2015 Edition, except where general terms of ordinary dictionary significance are used.
- Botanical classification: Bidens ferulifolia ‘Sunbidevb 7’.
- Parentage:
- Female parent.—Proprietary selection of Bidens ferulifolia identified as code number 1513-2, not patented.
- Male parent.—Proprietary selection of Bidens ferulifolia identified as code number 2015-Y, not patented.
- Propagation:
- Type.—By vegetative cuttings.
- Time to initiate roots, summer.—About seven days at temperatures ranging from 20 C to 25 C.
- Time to initiate roots, winter.—About ten days at temperatures ranging from 12 C to 15 C.
- Time to produce a rooted young plant, summer.—About ten days at temperatures ranging from 20 C to 25 C.
- Time to produce a rooted young plant, winter.—About two weeks at temperatures ranging from 12 C to 15 C.
- Root description.—Fibrous; typically white in color, actual color of the roots is dependent on substrate composition, water quality, fertilizers, substrate temperature and physiological age of roots.
- Rooting habit.—Freely branching.
- Plant description:
- Plant and growth habit.—Compact, upright to outwardly spreading and mounding plant habit; vigorous growth habit.
- Branching habit.—Freely branching habit with about eight primary lateral branches with secondary lateral branches potentially forming at every node.
- Plant height.—About 30 cm.
- Plant diameter or spread.—About 65 cm.
- Lateral branches.—Length: About 13.4 cm. Diameter: About 1.9 mm. Internode length: About 1.7 cm. Strength: Strong. Aspect: Upright to outwardly. Texture: Mostly smooth and glabrous to sparsely pubescent. Color: Close to 145B.
- Leaf description:
- Arrangement.—Opposite, simple.
- Length.—About 2.1 cm.
- Width.—About 2 cm.
- Shape.—Roughly deltoid; pinnatisect.
- Apex.—Acute.
- Base.—Truncate.
- Margin.—Serrate.
- Texture, upper and lower surfaces.—Mostly smooth and glabrous to sparsely pubescent.
- Venation pattern.—Pinnate, reticulate.
- Color.—Developing and fully expanded leaves, upper surface: Close to 137C; venation, close to 138B. Developing and fully expanded leaves, lower surface: Close to 138B; venation, close to 138B.
- Petioles.—Length: About 7.2 mm. Diameter: About 0.7 mm. Texture, upper and lower surfaces: Sparsely pubescent. Color, upper and lower surfaces: Close to 138D.
- Inflorescence description:
- Appearance.—Relatively large single inflorescences with ray and disc florets forming acropetally on a receptacle; inflorescences positioned above and beyond the foliar plane on strong peduncles; inflorescences face mostly upright.
- Flowering habit.—Freely flowering habit with about 64 inflorescences developing per plant.
- Fragrance.—Faintly fragrant; pleasant.
- Natural flowering season.—Plants flower year-round in Japan; early flowering habit, plants begin flowering about 60 days after planting rooted young plants.
- Inflorescence longevity.—Individual inflorescences last about seven to ten days on the plant; inflorescences persistent.
- Inflorescence buds.—Height: About 5 mm. Diameter: About 4 mm. Shape: Ovoid. Color: Close to N144D; towards the apex, close to 151D.
- Inflorescence size.—Diameter: About 3.5 cm. Depth (height): About 7.8 mm. Disc diameter: About 6.1 mm.
- Receptacles.—Diameter: About 3.6 mm. Height: About 1.2 cm. Color: Close to 145B.
- Ray florets.—Number of ray florets per inflorescence: About seven to nine arranged in a single whorl. Length: About 1.8 cm. Width: About 7.7 mm. Shape: Elliptic. Apex: Mostly acute to shallowly emarginate. Base: Obtuse. Margin: Entire. Aspect: Horizontal. Texture, upper and lower surfaces: Smooth, glabrous. Color: When opening and fully opened, upper surface: Towards the apex, close to 172B; mid-section, close to N34A; towards the base, close to 6A; venation, similar to lamina colors; color becoming closer to 172C with subsequent development. When opening and fully opened, lower surface: Distally, close to 172B, and proximally, close to 6A; venation, similar to lamina colors; color does not change with subsequent development.
- Disc florets.—Number of disc florets per inflorescence: About 82. Shape: Tubular, elongated; apex, five-pointed. Length: About 5.2 mm. Diameter: About 1.5 mm. Texture, inner and outer surfaces: Smooth, glabrous. Color, inner and outer surfaces: Close to 153B.
- Phyllaries.—Quantity per inflorescence: About nine in a single whorl. Length: About 3 mm. Width: About 1.2 mm. Shape: Lanceolate. Apex: Acute. Base: Truncate, fused. Margin: Entire. Texture, upper and lower surfaces: Smooth, glabrous. Color, upper and lower surfaces: Close to 137A.
- Peduncles.—Length, terminal peduncle: About 3.1 cm. Diameter: About 1 mm. Strength: Strong; flexible. Aspect: Upright to outwardly, inflorescences held above and beyond the foliar plane. Texture: Smooth, glabrous. Color: Close to 145B.
- Reproductive organs.—Androecium: Present on disc florets only. Quantity per disc floret: Five. Filament length: About 0.5 mm. Filament color: Close to 154C. Anther shape: Lanceolate. Anther length: About 0.5 mm. Anther color: Close to 187B. Pollen amount: Moderate. Pollen color: Close to 6C. Gynoecium: Present on ray and disc florets. Pistil length: About 5.8 mm. Style color: Close to 145B. Stigma shape: Bifurcate. Stigma color: Close to 6C. Ovary color: Close to 145C.
- Seeds.—To date, seed development has not been observed on plants of the new Bidens.
- Pathogen & pest resistance: To date, plants of the new Bidens have not been shown to be resistant to pathogens and pests common to Bidens plants.
- Garden performance: Plants of the new Bidens have exhibited good garden performance and tolerate rain, wind and temperatures ranging from 5 C to 35 C.
Patent Grant
PP35959
