USBENAL5

Verbena

Variety Description

Varieties used for comparison: 'Lan Roypur' (Lanai Royal Purple) and 'Balwilvio' (Wildfire Violet)

Summary: 'USBENAL5' produces plants with a semi-upright growth habit while the plants of 'Lan Roypur' are upright and those of 'Balwilvio' are medium to semi-creeping. The leaf blade of 'USBENAL5' is longer than that of 'Lan Roypur'. Colour of the fully open florets for 'USBENAL5' is purple with dark purple red secondary colour at the base of the corolla lobes while for 'Lan Roypur', it is violet with dark violet secondary colour at the base of the corolla lobes and for 'Balwilvio', it is lighter violet with no secondary colour. 'USBENAL5' has an inconspicuous, purple eye while 'Lan Roypur' has no eye zone and 'Balwilvio' has an eye zone which is cream and purple in colour.

Description:

'USBENAL5' is an annual verbena with a semi-upright growth habit. The medium green stems have moderate pubescence and weak to moderate intensity of anthocyanin colouration along the edges of the stem. The dark green leaves are ovate with a cuneate to truncate shaped base and crenate to serrate margins. The leaf blade is not divided. Pubescence of the leaf blade is moderate to dense on the upper surface and dense on the lower surface.

The inflorescence is a dome shaped corymb which is both axillary and terminal in location. Colour of the florets is shaded with the lighter colour located at the apex of the corolla lobes. The single florets are purple with dark purple red secondary colour at the base of the corolla lobes and fade as they mature. The bracts are smaller in size than the calyx. The calyx has anthocyanin colouration on the teeth only. The florets are medium to large in size with a mostly concave shape in cross section. The corolla lobes are touching and curvature along the longitudinal axis is absent. Undulation of the corolla lobe margins is weak. 'USBENAL5' has an inconspicuous eye zone which is purple in colour and located at the base of one corolla lobe. The throat hairs of the corolla are blue in colour with a patch of dark purple.

Origin & Breeding History: 'USBENAL5' is the product of a planned breeding program by the breeder, Ushio Sakazaki, of Hikone, Shiga, Japan. It originated from a cross made on April 20, 1999, between an unnamed, burgundy seedling selection as the female parent and a wild verbena as the male parent. It was selected as a single plant from the resulting progeny on June 10, 2000 in Bonsall, California, United States. 'USBENAL5' was selected based on large flower size and resistance to powdery mildew.

Tests & Trials: Tests and trials for 'USBENAL5' were conducted in a poly greenhouse at BioFlora Inc., St. Thomas, Ontario during the summer of 2003. The trial consisted of 15 plants of each variety grown in 15 cm pots. Colour characteristics were determined using the 2001 Royal Horticulture Society (RHS) colour charts. Measured characteristics were based on 10 measurements.

Comparison tables for 'USBENAL5' with reference varieties 'Lan Roypur' and 'Balwilvio'

Plant height (cm)

Plant width (cm)

Leaf blade length (cm)

Leaf blade width (cm)

Inflorescence diameter (cm)

Inflorescence length (cm)

Floret diameter (mm)

Main colour of upper side of floret (RHS)