The present invention comprises a new and distinct cultivar of Guzmania plant, hereinafter referred to by the cultivar name `Anton`. The genus Guzmania is a member of the family Bromeliaceae.
Guzmania comprise a genus of over 100 species of herbaceous evergreen perennials suitable for cultivation in the home or under glass. Guzmania are predominantly epiphytic with a few terrestrial species and are native to the tropics. For the most part the species vary in diameter from 7 to 8 inches to 3 or 4 feet and have rosettes of glossy, smooth edged leaves.
Floral bracts of Guzmania frequently have brilliant colors and may last for many months. The range of flower colors for Guzmania is generally from the yellow through orange but may also include flame red and red-purple. White or yellow, tubular, three petalled flowers may also appear on a stem or within the leaf rosette but are usually short lived.
Guzmania may be advantageously grown as potted plants for greenhouse or home use. Desirably the plants are shaded from direct sunlight during the spring to autumn period, the central vase-like part of the leaf rosette is normally filled with water.
Guzmania is native to tropical America. Leaves of the Guzmania are usually formed as basal rosettes which are stiff and entire and in several vertical ranks. Guzmania have terminal spikes or panicles which are often bracted with petals united in a tube about as long as the calyx.
Asexual propagation of Guzmania is frequently done through the use of tissue culture practices. Propagation can also be from off-shoots which are detached from the mother plant, and may be grown in an appropriate soil or bark mixture.
The new cultivar `Anton` is the product of a planned breeding program and was originated by the inventor, Herbert H. Hill, Jr., from a cross made during such program in Lithia, Fla. in May of 1992. The female or seed parent is Guzmania `Ultra` (U.S. Plant Pat. No. 8,221). The male or pollen parent is a proprietary selection of Guzmania wittmackii. The selection comprising the new variety was chosen after commencement of flowering in October of 1995.
The new cultivar was asexually propagated by off-shoots by the inventor in Lithia, Fla. beginning in January 1996. Asexual propagation by tissue culture was initiated in March of 1996. Continuous asexual propagation has demonstrated that the combination of characteristics as herein disclosed for the new cultivar `Anton` are firmly fixed and are retained through successive generations of asexual reproduction.