Lan Lav Star

Verbena

Variety Description

Varieties used for comparison: 'Sunmaricos' (Temari Lilac) and 'Twilight Light Pink'

Summary: 'Lan Lav Star' produces plants with a medium growth habit while the plants of 'Sunmarico' are semi-creeping and those of 'Twilight Light Pink Shades' are upright. The leaf blade of 'Lan Lav Star' is shorter than that of 'Twilight Light Pink Shades'. Colour of the fully open florets for 'Lan Lav Star' is light violet striped with light blue violet secondary colour while for 'Twilight Light Pink Shades', it is light blue pink striped with white and for 'Sunmaricos', it is violet with no secondary colour. The throat hairs of the corolla for 'Lan Lav Star' are white while those of 'Sunmaricos' are blue in colour.

Description:

'Lan Lav Star' is an annual verbena with a medium growth habit. The medium green stems have dense pubescence and absent to very weak intensity of anthocyanin colouration. The dark green leaves are ovate to lanceolate with a truncate to cuneate shaped base and dentate to serrate margins. The leaf blades are usually divided into lobes. There is no anthocyanin colouration on the upper surface of the leaf blade. 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. The single florets have a star shaped colour pattern. Floret colour is light violet striped with light blue violet secondary colour and fades as the florets mature. The bracts are smaller in size than the calyx. The calyx has no anthocyanin colouration. The florets are medium to large in size with a mostly convex shape in cross section. The corolla lobes are not touching and curvature along the longitudinal axis is mostly recurved. Undulation of the corolla lobe margins is moderate to strong. 'Lan Lav Star' has an eye zone which is green yellow in colour. The throat hairs of the corolla are white.

Origin & Breeding History: 'Lan Lav Star' was discovered as a sport on a seedling which was part of a breeding program. This seedling originated from a cross made in March of 1999 using 'Temari Purple' as the female parent and '99-765-5', a proprietary line with pink and blue toned flowers, as the male parent. The resulting seed was sown in a greenhouse in September of 1999. In December of 1999, a single plant was selected from the F1 progeny based on flower colour, form and plant growth habit.

Tests & Trials: Tests and trials for 'Lan Lav Star' 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 'Lan Lav Star' with reference varieties 'Sunmaricos' and 'Twilight Light Pink'

Leaf blade length (cm)

Colour of upper side of floret (RHS)