Bonbrapi

Brachyscome

Variety Description

Varieties used for comparison: 'Blue Zephyr' and 'Amethyst Blue'

Summary: The plants of 'Bonbrapi' have few stems while those of 'Blue Zephyr' and 'Amethyst Blue' have many. The leaves of 'Bonbrapi' are longer than those of both reference varieties and wider than those of 'Blue Zephyr'. The divisions on the leaves of 'Bonbrapi' are at the apex only while those on 'Blue Zephyr' are on the upper half and those on 'Amethyst Blue' are on the full length. The broadest lobes of 'Bonbrapi' are broad while those of 'Blue Zephyr' are medium and those of 'Amethyst Blue' are narrow. The flower stems of 'Bonbrapi' are shorter than those of 'Amethyst Blue'. The flower stems of 'Bonbrapi' have strong anthocyanin colouration while those of 'Blue Zephyr' have absent or very weak and those of 'Amethyst Blue' have anthocyanin colouration ranging from weak to medium. The flower heads of 'Bonbrapi' are larger than those of both reference varieties. The ray florets of 'Bonbrapi' differ in colour from those of both reference varieties.

Description:

PLANT: bushy growth type, predominantly upright stem attitude, few stems, sparse to medium density

LEAF: divided margin, margin division at apex only, depth of divisions is one third to two thirds from margin to midrib, regular lobing
LEAF LOBE: broad, oblong, apex rounded with cuspidate tip, absent or very weak secondary divisions

FLOWER STEM: strong anthocyanin colouration
FLOWER BUD: purple (RHS 60C)
FLOWER HEAD: predominant position moderately above foliage
DISC: diameter less than one third diameter of flower head, light green (RHS 144B-C) before opening of florets, yellow (RHS 2A) after opening of all florets
RAY FLORET: oblong, purple to blue pink (RHS N74B-C) upper side on first day of opening, blue pink (RHS N74C) upper side after first day of opening

Origin & Breeding History: 'Bonbrapi' originated from a controlled pollination between the proprietary Brachyscome formosa variety '00-126.2' with the Brachyscome variety '00-52' conducted in Yellow Rock, Australia, in 2004. Seeds from the cross were germinated and grown to maturity. One plant was selected by the breeder on July 12, 2005 based on flower size, flower colour, leaf size, leaf form and leaf colour. The selected plant was propagated by cuttings and grown in pots. A trial was carried out from July 2005 to December 2006 in order to examine the botanical characteristics of the plant. As a result, it was concluded that this Brachyscome plant was distiguishable from any other varieties and it was named 'Bonbrapi'.

Tests & Trials: Trials for 'Bonbrapi' were conducted in a polyhouse during the spring of 2010 in St. Thomas, Ontario. The trial included a total of 15 plants each of the candidate and reference varieties. All plants were grown from rooted cuttings and transplanted into 10 cm pots on May 17, 2010. Observations and measurements were taken from 10 plants of each variety on June 21, 2010. All colour determinations were made using the 2007 Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) Colour Chart.

Comparison tables for 'Bonbrapi' with reference varieties 'Blue Zephyr' and 'Amethyst Blue'

Leaf length (cm)

Leaf width (cm)

Flower stem length (cm)

Flower head diameter (cm)

Colour of upper side of ray floret (RHS)

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Brachyscome: 'Bonbrapi' (left) with reference varieties 'BlueZephyr' (center) and 'Amethyst Blue' (right)

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Brachyscome: 'Bonbrapi' (left) with reference varieties 'BlueZephyr' (center) and 'Amethyst Blue' (right)