White Magic

Gentian

Variety Description

Variety used for comparison: 'Blue Magic'

Summary: The stems of 'White Magic' have many side shoots with more than one node while those of 'Blue Magic' have a medium number of side shoots with more than one node. The corolla and corolla tube of 'White Magic' are white while those of 'Blue Magic' are violet blue to light violet blue. The spots on the upper part of the outer side of the corolla tube of 'White Magic' are medium density while the spots for 'Blue Magic' are sparse.

Description:

PLANT: erect growth habit
STEM: thickness ranging from thin to medium, circular in cross section at mid point, light to medium green, anthocyanin colouration present at two thirds from base, many internodes longer than 5 mm, side shoots present, many side shoots with more than one node, side shoots with only one node positioned in lower half only, longest leaf positioned in central third

LEAF: lanceolate and narrow elliptic, folded upwards and straight in cross section, straight in longitudinal section, no twisting, one conspicuous vein, medium green on upper side, no anthocyanin colouration on upper side

INFLORESCENCE: clustered flower distribution, terminal and axillary flower positions, medium number of terminal flowers, few flowers at central flowering node, medium number of flowering nodes, medium time of flowering
CALYX: light green, anthocyanin colouration present, funnel-shaped tube, narrow lanceolate lobe
FLOWER: single
COROLLA: funnel-shaped, incurved lobes, lobes white (RHS NN155D) on inner side, inner side of tube white (RHS NN155D) on upper part, outer side of tube white (RHS NN155D) on upper part, inner side of lobes and upper part of outer side of tube have medium density of spots, green streaked pattern on outer side of tube, five lobes, ovate lobes, acute distal end of lobes, no paracorolla

Origin & Breeding History: 'White Magic' originated as a naturally occurring branch mutation of the variety 'Blue Magic' discovered by the breeder in Reeuwijk, The Netherlands in the summer of 2008. The new variety was selected based on flower colour, plant growth habit, length of flowering period and flower abundance. Asexual reproduction of 'White Magic' was first conducted by in-vitro propagation in January 2009, in Rijswijk, The Netherlands.

Tests & Trials: Trials for 'White Magic' were conducted in an outdoor trial during the summer of 2012 in St. Thomas, Ontario. The trial included a total of 20 plants each of the candidate and reference varieties. All plants were grown from bare-rooted plants, planted into 11 cm pots in April 2011 and transplanted to an outdoor bed on September 12, 2011. Observations and measurements were taken from 10 plants on August 10, 2012. All colour determinations were made using the 2007 Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) Colour Chart.

Comparison tables for 'White Magic' with reference variety 'Blue Magic'

Colour of corolla lobes (RHS)

Colour of upper part of corolla tube (RHS)

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Gentian: 'White Magic' (left) with reference variety 'Blue Magic' (right)

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Gentian: 'White Magic' (left) with reference variety 'Blue Magic' (right)

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Gentian: 'White Magic' (left) with reference variety 'Blue Magic' (right)