Patent Grant
PP32212
Latin name of the genus and species: Vriesea sp.
Variety denomination: ‘BRIGHT DAY’.
The present invention relates to a new and distinct cultivar of Vriesea plant, botanically known as Vriesea sp., hereinafter referred to by the cultivar name ‘BRIGHT DAY’. The genus of Vriesea belongs to the Bromeliaceae family. The new Vriesea cultivar is a product of a planned breeding program conducted by the inventors, Elly Bak and Nico D. M. Steur, in Assendelft, The Netherlands. The objective of the breeding program is to develop a new Vriesea variety with good growing habit and attractive inflorescence.
The new Vriesea cultivar ‘BRIGHT DAY’ originated from a cross-made in a controlled breeding program by the inventors in 1999 in Assendelft, The Netherlands. The seed parent is an unpatented Vriesea selection designated ‘910209’. The pollen parent is an unpatented Vriesea selection designated ‘99051414’. ‘BRIGHT DAY’ was discovered and selected by the inventors in December 2004, as a single flowering plant within the progeny of the stated cross in a controlled environment in Assendelft, The Netherlands.
Asexual reproduction of the new cultivar ‘BRIGHT DAY’ performed by vegetative means by tissue culture was first performed in 2010, in Assendelft, The Netherlands. The first ‘BRIGHT DAY’ plants propagated through the use of tissue culture flowered in 2012, in Assendelft, The Netherlands, and have demonstrated that the combination of characteristics as herein disclosed for the new cultivar are firmly fixed and retained through successive generations of asexual reproduction. The new cultivar reproduces true-to-type.
The cultivar ‘BRIGHT DAY’ has not been observed under all possible environmental conditions. The phenotype may vary somewhat with variations in environment such as temperature, day length, 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 ‘BRIGHT DAY’. These characteristics in combination distinguish ‘BRIGHT DAY’ as a new and distinct Vriesea cultivar:
Plants of the parents, ‘910209’ and ‘99051414’ are no longer available to provide a botanical comparison with the new Vriesea cultivar ‘BRIGHT DAY’.
‘BRIGHT DAY’ is similar in most horticultural characteristics to the unpatented commercial variety Vriesea ‘Stream’, U.S. Plant Pat. No. 18,227. However, the new variety, ‘BRIGHT DAY’ differs in the following:
The accompanying drawing illustrates the overall appearance of the new Vriesea cultivar ‘BRIGHT DAY’ showing the colors as true as is reasonably possible with colored reproductions of this type. Colors in the photograph may differ slightly from the color values cited in the detailed botanical description which accurately describes the color of ‘BRIGHT DAY’.
The photograph shows a side perspective view of a typical potted flowering plant of ‘BRIGHT DAY’ at about 18 months of age from potting size.
‘BRIGHT DAY’ has not been observed under all possible environmental conditions. The phenotype of the new cultivar may vary with variations in environment such as temperature, light intensity, day length, fertilizers and humidity without any change in the genotype of the plant. The afore mentioned photograph, together with the following observations, measurements and values describe the new Vriesea cultivar as grown in a greenhouse in Assendelft, The Netherlands, under conditions which closely approximate those generally used in commercial practice. Plants of ‘BRIGHT DAY’ were grown in a greenhouse with day temperatures ranging from 20° C. to 28° C. and night temperatures ranging from 18° C. to 23° C. No artificial lighting or photoperiodic treatments were conducted, but plants of ‘BRIGHT DAY’ are forced into flowering. The following fertilizer is added when growing plants of ‘BRIGHT DAY’: 1 part nitrogen, 0.6 parts phosphor, 2 parts Kalium and 0.1 parts magnesium. Color references are made to The Royal Horticultural Society Colour Chart (RHS) 2007, except where general colors of ordinary significance are used. Color values were taken under daylight conditions in a greenhouse in Assendelft, The Netherlands. The age of the plants of ‘BRIGHT DAY’ described is about 18 months from potting size.
