Patent Application
20170079186
Botanical designation: Senecio cruentus.
Cultivar denomination: ‘SUNSENEGOROKU’.
The present invention relates to a new and distinct cultivar of Senecio plant, botanically known as Senecio cruentus, and hereinafter referred to by the name ‘Sunsenegoroku’.
The new Senecio plant is a product of a planned breeding program conducted by the Inventor in Higashiomi, Shiga, Japan. The objective of the breeding program is to create new upright and uniformly mounding Senecio plants with a freely-branching habit and numerous attractive inflorescences.
The new Senecio plant originated from a cross pollination conducted by the Inventor in March, 2010 of a proprietary selection of Senecio cruentus identified as code number 09-25, not patented, as the female, or seed, parent with a proprietary selection of Senecio cruentus identified as code number 09-81, not patented, as the male, or pollen, parent. The new Senecio plant was discovered and selected by the Inventor as a single flowering plant within the progeny of the stated cross-pollination in a controlled greenhouse environment in Higashiomi, Shiga, Japan in February, 2011.
Asexual reproduction of the new Senecio plant by terminal cuttings in a controlled greenhouse environment in Higashiomi, Shiga, Japan since October, 2011 has shown that the unique features of this new Senecio plant are stable and reproduced true to type in successive generations.
Plants of the new Senecio 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 ‘Sunsenegoroku’. These characteristics in combination distinguish ‘Sunsenegoroku’ as a new and distinct Senecio plant:
1. Upright and uniformly mounded plant habit.
2. Vigorous growth habit.
3. Freely branching habit.
4. Freely flowering habit.
5. Daisy-type inflorescences with ray florets that are violet blue in color towards the apex and pale pink in color towards the base.
Plants of the new Senecio can be compared to plants of the female parent selection. Plants of the new Senecio differ from plants of the female parent selection in the following characteristics:
1. Plants of the new Senecio are more freely branching than plants of the female parent selection.
2. Plants of the new Senecio and the female parent selection differ in ray floret color as plants of the female parent selection have white-colored ray florets.
Plants of the new Senecio can be compared to plants of the male parent selection. Plants of the new Senecio differ from plants of the male parent selection in the following characteristics:
1. Plants of the new Senecio are more freely branching than plants of the male parent selection.
2. Plants of the new Senecio and the male parent selection differ in ray floret color as plants of the male parent selection have ray florets that are light blue in color towards the apex and light pink in color towards the base.
Plants of the new Senecio can also be compared to plants of Senecio cruentus ‘Sunsenebu’, disclosed in U.S. Plant Pat. No. 12,104. In side-by-side comparisons conducted in Higashiomi, Shiga, Japan, plants of the new Senecio differed from plants of ‘Sunsenebu’ in the following characteristics:
1. Plants of the new Senecio were taller and more upright than plants of ‘Sunsenebu’.
2. Plants of the new Senecio had thicker and darker green-colored stems than plants of ‘Sunsenebu’.
3. Plants of the new Senecio had smaller and darker green-colored leaves than plants of ‘Sunsenebu’.
4. Plants of the new Senecio had smaller inflorescences than plants of ‘Sunsenebu’.
5. Plants of the new Senecio and ‘Sunsenebu’ differed in ray floret color as plants of ‘Sunsenebu’ had violet-colored ray florets.
6. Plants of the new Senecio had shorter peduncles than plants of ‘Sunsenebu’.
The accompanying photographs illustrate the overall appearance of the new Senecio 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 Senecio plant. The photograph at the top of the sheet is a side perspective view of a typical flowering plant of ‘Sunsenegoroku’ grown in a container. The photograph at the bottom of the sheet is a close-up view of a typical flowering plant of ‘Sunsenegoroku’.
The aforementioned photographs, following observations and measurements describe plants grown during the winter in 15-cm containers in an outdoor nursery in Higashiomi, Shiga, Japan and under cultural practices typical of commercial Senecio production. During the production of the plants, day temperatures averaged 10° C. and night temperatures averaged 5° C. Measurements and numerical values represent averages for typical flowering plants. Plants were six months old when the photographs and description were taken. In the following description, color references are made to The Royal Horticultural Society Colour Chart, 2007 Edition, except where general terms of ordinary dictionary significance are used.
