Chrysanthemum plant named `Golden Spotlight`

Abstract

A distinct cultivar of Chrysanthemum plant named `Golden Spotlight`, characterized by its uniformly mounded plant habit; decorative-type inflorescences that are about 5.8 cm in diameter; attractive bright yellow ray florets reddish brown inflorescence center; and numerous inflorescences per plant.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a new and distinct cultivar of Chrysanthemum plant, botanically known as Dendranthema grandiflora and referred to by the cultivar name Golden Spotlight.

The new cultivar is a product of a mutation induction breeding program conducted by the inventor in Fort Myers, Fla., and Salinas, Calif. The objective of the breeding program is to create new garden-type Chrysanthemum cultivars having with desirable inflorescence form and color and good garden performance.

The new cultivar originated by exposing unrooted cuttings of the Chrysanthemum cultivar Empire Spotlight (disclosed in U.S. Plant Pat. No. 9,933) to X-ray radiation at a level of 2,000 rads in November, 1994. Following the radiation treatment, the cuttings were rooted and terminal apices were removed (pinched) three times to promote lateral branch development. After lateral branches from the third pinch reached sufficient size, terminal cuttings were harvested, planted and flowered in a controlled environment in Salinas, Calif. The cultivar Golden Spotlight was discoveed and selected by the inventor as a single flowering plant within this population in June, 1995. The selection of this plant was based on its desirable ray floret color.

Asexual reproduction of the new cultivar by terminal cuuttings taken in a controlled environment in Salinas, Calif., has shown that the unique features of this new Chrysanthemum are stable and reproduced true as type in successive generations.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The cultivar Golden Spotlight has not been observed under all possible environmental conditions. The phenotype may vary somewhat with variations in environment such as temperature, daylength 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 `Golden Spotlight`. These characteristics in combination distinguish `Golden Spotlight` as a new and distinct cultivar:

1. Uniformly mounded plant habit.

2. Decorative-type inflorescences that are about 5.8 cm in diameter.

3. Attractive bright yellow ray florets.

4. Reddish brown inflorescence center.

5. Numerous inflorescences per plant.

Plants of the new Chrysanthemum can be compared to plants of the parent cultivar Empire Spotlight. However, in side-by-side comparisons conducted by the Inventor under commerical practice, plants of the new Chrysanthemum differed from plants of the cultivar Empire Spotlight in the following characteristics:

1. Plants of the new Chrysanthemum are more compact than plants of the cultivar Empire Spotlight.

2. Plants of the new Chrysanthemum flower later plants of the cultivar Empire Spotlight.

3. Ray floret color of plants of the new Chrysanthemum is initially reddish brown becoming yellow whereas ray floret color of plants of the cultivar Empire Spotlight is pink.

4. Apical ray floret color of plants of the new Chrysanthemum becomes purple earlier than apical ray floret color of plants of Empire Spotlight.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE PHOTOGRAPHS

The accompanying photographs illustrate the overall appearance of the new cultivar.

The photograph at the top of the sheet comprises a side perspective view of a typical flowering plant of `Golden Spotlight`.

The photograph at the bottom of the sheet comprises a close-up view of typical fully developed inflorescences of the cultivar `Golden Spotlight`. These photographs show the colors as true as it is reasonably possible to obtain in colored reproductions of this type. Floret and foliage colors in the photographs may differ from the actual colors due to light reflectance.

DETAILED BOTANICAL DESCRIPTION

In the following description, color references are made to The Royal Horticultural Society Colour Chart except where general terms of ordinary dictionary significance are used. The following observations and measurements describe plants grown in Leamington, Ontario, Canada, under conditions which approximate those generally used in commercial garden Chrysanthemum production. One rooted cutting was planted in a 15-cm container on Jul. 20, 1998 and plants were grown outdoors under natural season conditions. Measurements and numerical values represent averages for typical flowering containers.

Botanical classification: Dendranthema grandiflora cultivar Golden Spotlight.

Commercial classification: Decorative-type garden chrysanthemum.

Parentage: Induced mutation of Dendranthema grandiflora cultivar Empire Spotlight, disclosed in U.S. Plant Pat. No. 9,933.

Propagation:

Type.--Terminal tip cuttings.

Time to rooting.--Seven to ten days with soil temperatures of 21°C

Rooting habit.--Fine, fibrous and well-branched.

Plant description:

Appearance.--Perennial herbaceous decorative-type garden Chrysanthemum. Inverted triangle. Stems initially upright, then outwardly spreading giving a uniformly mounded appearance to the plant. Freely branching with lateral branches potentially developing at every node, when pinched, about 8 laterals develop.

Plant height.--About 31 cm.

Plant spread.--About 37 cm.

Foliage description.--Leaf arrangement: Alternate. Length: About 6.1 cm. Width: About 4.3 cm. Apex: Mucronate. Base: Attenuate. Margin: Palmately lobed, sinuses typically divergent. Texture: Upper surface sparsely pubescent; lower surface slightly to moderately pubescent. Veins prominent on lower surface. Petiole length: About 1.2 cm. Petiole diameter: About 3 mm. Color: Young foliage upper surface: 147A. Young foliage lower surface: 147B. Mature foliage upper surface: 147A. Mature foliage lower surface: 147B. Venation upper surface: 147B. Venation lower surface: 147B.

Inflorescence description:

Appearance.--Decorative-type inflorescence form with oblong-shaped ray florets. Inflorescences borne on terminals above foliage, arising from leaf avils. Disk and ray florets arrange acropetally on a capitulum. One inflorescence per terminal with numerous inflorescences per plant, about 8 per lateral stem.

Flowering response.--Under natural season conditions, plants flower in late September in the Northern Hemisphere, about 72 days after planting, and flower for at least three weeks depending on weather conditions.

Inflorescence bud (before showing color).--Height: About 4.5 mm. Diameter: About 7.5 mm. Phyllary color: Close to 141A.

Inflorescence size.--Diameter: About 5.8 cm. Depth (height): About 1.7 cm.

Ray florets.--Shape: Oblong, enlogated flat. Length: About 2.75 cm. Width: About 7 mm. Apex: Dentate. Margin: Entire. Texture: Smooth, glabrous, satiny. Orientation: Initially upright, then horizontal. Number of ray florets per inflorescence: More than 100. Color: When opening: Upper surface: 9A; apex, reddish brown, close to 166A to 183A. Lower surface: Close to 9C. Opened inflorescence: Upper surface: Initially 9A; becoming 9B to 9C with development, fading to 9D with purple apices. Lower surface: 9C to 9D.

Disc florets.--None observed.

Peduncle.--Aspect: Flexible, angled about 35° to the stem. Length: First peduncle: About 5.9 cm. Fourth peduncle: About 7.3 cm. Diameter: About 2.5 mm. Texture: Pubescent. Color: Close to 143A.

Reproductive organs.--Androecium: Not observed. Gynoecium: Present on ray florets.

Disease resistance: Resistance to known Chrysanthemum diseases has not been observed on plants grown under commercial production conditions.

Seed production: Seed production has not been observed.

Claims

1. A new and distinct cultivar of Chrysanthemum plant named `Golden