Poinsettia plant named ‘Dueprimver’

Abstract

A new and distinct cultivar of Poinsettia plant named ‘Dueprimver’, characterized by its compact, upright to somewhat outwardly spreading and uniformly mounding plant habit; moderately vigorous growth habit; strong lateral branches; early flowering habit; inflorescences with large red-colored flower bracts; and excellent post-production longevity.

Description

Botanical designation: Euphorbia pulcherrima Willd.

Cultivar denomination: ‘DUEPRIMVER’.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a new and distinct cultivar of Poinsettia plant, botanically known as Euphorbia pulcherrima Willd., and hereinafter referred to by the name ‘Dueprimver’. Plants of the new Poinsettia have not been made available publicly nor sold for more than one year prior to the filing of this application.

The new Poinsettia plant is a product of a planned breeding program conducted by the Inventor in Rheinberg, Germany. The objective of the breeding program is to create compact Poinsettia plants with attractive flower bract coloration.

The new Poinsettia plant originated from a cross-pollination made by the Inventor in July, 2011 in Rheinberg, Germany of a proprietary selection of Euphorbia pulcherrima Willd. identified as code number F-03-019, not patented, as the female, or seed, parent with a proprietary selection of Euphorbia pulcherrima Willd. identified as code number E95-0596-012, not patented, as the male, or pollen, parent. The new Poinsettia plant was discovered and selected by the Inventor as a flowering plant from within the progeny of the stated cross-pollination in a controlled greenhouse environment in Rheinberg, Germany.

Asexual reproduction of the new Poinsettia plant by terminal vegetative cuttings in a controlled greenhouse environment in Rheinberg, Germany has shown that the unique features of this new Poinsettia plant are stable and reproduced true to type in successive generations of asexual reproduction.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Plants of the new Poinsettia 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, 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 ‘Dueprimver’. These characteristics in combination distinguish ‘Dueprimver’ as a new and distinct Poinsettia plant:

• • 1. Compact, upright to somewhat outwardly spreading and uniformly mounding plant habit.
  • 2. Moderately vigorous growth habit.
  • 3. Strong lateral branches.
  • 4. Early flowering habit.
  • 5. Inflorescences with large red-colored flower bracts.
  • 6. Excellent post-production longevity.

Plants of the new Poinsettia differ primarily from plants of the female parent selection in the following characteristics:

• • 1. Leaves of plants of the new Poinsettia are darker green in color than leaves of plants of the female parent selection.
  • 2. Plants of the new Poinsettia flower and the female parent selection differ in flower bract color as plants of the female parent selection have bright red-colored flower bracts.

Plants of the new Poinsettia differ primarily from plants of the male parent selection in flower bract texture as plants of the new Poinsettia have smoother flower bracts than plants of the male parent selection.

Plants of the new Poinsettia can be compared to plants of Euphorbia pulcherrima Willd. ‘Fiscor’, disclosed in U.S. Plant Pat. No. 9,364. In side-by-side comparisons conducted in Rheinberg, Germany, plants of the new Poinsettia differed primarily from plants of ‘Fiscor’ in the following characteristics:

• • 1. Plants of the new Poinsettia were more compact than and not as vigorous as plants of ‘Fiscor’.
  • 2. Plants of the new Poinsettia were more upright than plants of ‘Fiscor’.
  • 3. Lateral branches of plants of the new Poinsettia were thicker and darker green in color than lateral branches of plants of ‘Fiscor’.
  • 4. Plants of the new Poinsettia had larger inflorescences than plants of ‘Fiscor’.
  • 5. Flower bracts of plants of the new Poinsettia were narrower and darker red in color than flower bracts of plants of ‘Fiscor’.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE PHOTOGRAPH

The accompanying photograph illustrates the overall appearance of the new Poinsettia plant showing the colors as true as it is reasonably possible to obtain in colored reproductions of this type. Colors in the photograph may differ slightly from the color values cited in the detailed botanical description which accurately describe the colors of the new Poinsettia plant.

The photograph comprises a side perspective view of a typical flowering plant of ‘Dueprimver’ grown in a container.

DETAILED BOTANICAL DESCRIPTION

The aforementioned photograph and following observations and measurements describe plants grown in Rheinberg, Germany during the summer in a glass-covered greenhouse and under cultural practices typical of commercial Poinsettia production. During the production of the plants, day and night temperatures averaged 18° C. and light levels averaged 4,500 lux. Single plants were grown in 12-cm containers and were pinched one time about three weeks after planting the cuttings. Two weeks after pinching, the photoinductive treatments (long nyctoperiods) were initiated. Plants were 20 weeks old when the photograph and the detailed description were taken. In the following description, color references are made to The Royal Horticultural Society Colour Chart, 1995 Edition, except where general terms of ordinary dictionary significance are used.

• Botanical classification: Euphorbia pulcherrima Willd. ‘Dueprimver’.
• Parentage:
  • • Female, or seed, parent.—Proprietary selection of Euphorbia pulcherrima Willd. identified as code number F-03-019, not patented.
    • Male or pollen parent.—Proprietary selection of Euphorbia pulcherrima Willd. identified as code number E95-0596-012, not patented.
• Propagation:
  • • Type.—Terminal vegetative cuttings.
    • Time to initiate roots, summer.—About five days at temperatures about 20° C.
    • Time to initiate roots, winter.—About seven days at temperatures about 20° C.
    • Time to produce a rooted young plant, summer.—About three weeks at temperatures about 20° C.
    • Time to produce a rooted young plant, winter.—About four weeks at temperatures about 20° C.
    • Root description.—Fine, fibrous; white in color.
    • Rooting habit.—Freely branching; dense.
• Plant description:
  • • Plant habit and form.—Compact, upright to somewhat outwardly spreading and uniformly mounding plant habit; inverted triangle, mounding; inflorescences with large flower bracts positioned above the foliar plane; moderately vigorous growth habit.
    • Plant height.—About 25.3 cm.
    • Plant diameter or spread.—About 41.1 cm.
    • Lateral branch description.—Quantity: Freely branching habit with about six lateral branches developing after pinching. Length: About 15.8 cm. Diameter: About 6 mm. Internode length: About 1.7 cm. Strength: Moderately strong. Texture: Smooth, glabrous. Color: Close to 137A.
    • Leaf description.—Arrangement: Alternate, simple. Length: About 10.4 cm. Width: About 5.7 cm. Shape: Ovate. Apex: Apiculate. Base: Obtuse. Margin: Lobed; dentate. Venation pattern: Pinnate. Texture, upper surface: Smooth, glabrous. Texture, lower surface: Rugose, glabrous. Color: Developing leaves, upper surface: Close to 139A. Developing leaves, lower surface: Close to 139B. Fully expanded leaves, upper surface: Close to 139A; venation, close to 187A. Fully expanded leaves, lower surface: Close to 137B; venation, close to 46A. Petioles: Length: About 5.7 cm. Diameter: About 2.4 mm. Texture, upper and lower surfaces: Smooth, glabrous. Color, upper surface: Close to 187B. Color, lower surface: Close to 187C.
• Inflorescence description:
  • • Inflorescence type and habit.—Inflorescences are compound corymbs of cyathia with flower bracts subtending the cyathia; one inflorescence per lateral branch with inflorescences positioned above and beyond the foliar plane.
    • Fragrance.—None detected.
    • Natural flowering season.—Plants flower naturally during the autumn and winter under long nyctoperiod conditions; inflorescence initiation and development can be induced under artificial long nyctoperiod conditions; early flowering habit, response time is about eight weeks.
    • Post-production longevity.—Excellent post-production longevity; plants of the new Poinsettia maintain good substance and bract color for about twelve weeks under interior conditions.
    • Inflorescence size.—Diameter: About 21.6 cm. Height (depth): About 4.6 cm.
    • Flower bracts.—Quantity per inflorescence: About 14. Length: About 9.9 cm. Width: About 6.2 cm. Shape: Ovate. Apex: Apiculate. Base: Obtuse. Margin: Dentate. Texture, upper surface: Glabrous; smooth, Texture, lower surface: Glabrous; rugose. Venation pattern: Pinnate. Color: Developing and transitional bracts, upper surface: Close to 46B. Developing and transitional bracts, lower surface: Close to 46C. Fully developed bracts, upper surface: Close to 46C; venation, close to 46C; color does not change with development. Fully developed bracts, lower surface: Close to 46D; venation, close to 46D; color does not change with development. Bract petioles: Length: About 1.7 cm. Diameter: About 2.2 mm. Texture, upper and lower surfaces: Smooth, glabrous. Color, upper and lower surfaces: Close to 53A.
    • Cyathia.—Quantity per corymb: About ten. Length: About 9 mm. Width: About 6 mm. Shape: Ovoid. Texture, inner and outer surfaces: Smooth, glabrous. Color, immature and mature, inner and outer surfaces: Close to 144B to 144C. Nectaries: Quantity per cyathium: One. Length: About 4 mm. Diameter: About 1 mm. Shape: Ovoid. Texture, inner and outer surfaces: Smooth, glabrous. Color, immature and mature: Inner surface: Close to 17C. Outer surface: Close to 17C.
    • Peduncles.—Length: About 4 mm. Diameter: About 1 mm. Strength: Strong. Texture: Smooth, glabrous. Color: Close to 145A.
    • Reproductive organs.—Stamens: Quantity per cyathium: About ten. Filament length: About 2 mm. Filament color: Close to 59A. Anther shape: Oval. Anther length: About 0.5 mm. Anther color: Close to 187A to 187B. Amount of pollen: Abundant. Pollen color: Close to 7A. Pistils: Quantity per cyathium: One. Pistil length: About 8 mm. Style length: About 2 mm. Style color: Close to 144B. Stigma shape: Crested. Stigma color: Close to 59A to 59B. Ovary color: Close to 144A. Seeds and fruits: Seed and fruit production have not been observed on plants of the new Poinsettia.
• Disease & pest resistance: Plants of the new Poinsettia have not been shown to be resistant to pathogens and pests common to Poinsettia plants.
• Temperature tolerance: Plants of the new Poinsettia have been observed to tolerate temperatures ranging from about 5° C. to about 40° C.

Claims

1. A new and distinct Poinsettia plant named ‘Dueprimver’ as illustrated and described.