Latin name of the genus and species of the plant claimed: A hybrid of the genus Impatiens (Impatiens hawkerixc3x97Impatiens auricoma).
Variety denomination: xe2x80x98Fisvisionxe2x80x99.
The present invention comprises a new and distinct cultivar of the genus Impatiens, hereinafter referred to by the cultivar name xe2x80x98Fisvisionxe2x80x99.
xe2x80x98Fisvisionxe2x80x99 is a product of a planned breeding program and originates from an inter-specific hybridization made by the inventor, Birgit Hofmann, in a controlled breeding program in Hillscheid, Germany, in 2000. The main objective of the breeding program was to introduce the novel trait of yellow flower color into the New Guinea Impatiens group.
The female parent was a New Guinea Impatiens hybrid seedling, no. K00-6158-1 (unpatented, proprietary plant material), characterized by round, white flowers, ever-flowering, deep green foliage for a white-flowered variety, elliptically shaped leaves, round and bushy plant habit, and medium growth vigor.
The male parent was an unnamed Impatiens auricoma plant of commercial origin (unpatented) with brilliant golden-yellow flowers, and a galeated corolla, roughly reminiscent of Aconitum flowers (buttercup family). The foliage of the male parent Impatiens auricoma plant is grass-green, narrow, and elliptically shaped. Its growth habit is vigorous and upright, and it has few branches initially.
Flowers of the female parent were pollinated by the above described Impatiens auricoma plant, which usually led to abscission of the ovaries before maturity of the seed capsules. Therefore, a few days after fertilization, the ovules with immature embryos were transferred into tissue culture. After a few months of development, 27 plantlets were successfully transferred into soil and grown in a greenhouse in the spring of 2001. These plants were found to be variable with respect to branching ability, the number of flowers developed, and presence or absence of leaf deformation. xe2x80x98Fisvisionxe2x80x99 was discovered and selected by the inventor, as one flowering plant within the progeny in a greenhouse in Hillscheid, Germany, in August 2001.
The first act of vegetative reproduction of xe2x80x98Fisvisionxe2x80x99 was accomplished when cuttings were taken from the initial selection in September, 2001, in a controlled environment in Hillscheid, Germany, by, or under the supervision of the inventor.
Horticultural examination of plants grown from cuttings of the plant initiated in the spring of 2002, in Hillscheid, Germany, has demonstrated that the combination of characteristics as herein disclosed for xe2x80x98Fisvisionxe2x80x99 are firmly fixed and are retained through successive generations of asexual reproduction.
xe2x80x98Fisvisionxe2x80x99 has not been observed under all possible environmental conditions. The phenotype may vary significantly with variations in environment such as temperature, light intensity and day length, without, however, any variation in genotype. The following observations, measurements, and comparisons describe plants grown in Hillscheid, Federal Republic of Germany under greenhouse conditions which approximate those generally used in commercial practice.
The following traits have been repeatedly observed and are determined to be basic characteristics of xe2x80x9cFisvisionxe2x80x9d, which in combination distinguish this impatiens as a new and distinct cultivar:
1. light-yellow flower color RHS 8 B;
2. medium-sized, cup-shaped, zygomorphic flowers with a short spur;
3. uniform, medium green foliage, elliptically shaped;
4. medium sized, low and wide, rounded, compact and well-branched plant habit;
5. early flowering response, rich and continuously flowering; and
6. strong resistance to heat and excellent tolerance of higher fertilizer levels/salt concentrations in soil for Impatiens.
As xe2x80x98Fisvisionxe2x80x99 is an inter-specific hybrid, there is no very close variety for comparison purposes, other than the parental cultivars. In contrast to the female parent, seedling no K00-6158-1, xe2x80x98Fisvisionxe2x80x99 has light yellow, instead of white, flower color, and the flower shape and size is different. Flowers of xe2x80x98Fisvisionxe2x80x99 are smaller, about ⅔ thirds the size, and the flower shape is cup-shaped and zygomorphic, not flat or rounded. The shape, size and color of the leaves of both the female parent and the instant plant are similar. Lastly, xe2x80x98Fisvisionxe2x80x99 has a similar plant shape to that of the female parent, but grows somewhat more slowly and stays more compact.
In comparison to the male parent, which has deep yellow, and nearly closed, galeated corolla, xe2x80x98Fisvisionxe2x80x99 has a lighter yellow flower color and more open, cup-shaped corolla and a longer spur. It also has a deeper green foliage color, and plant habit is not erect, but bushy and relatively low, with distinctly less vigorous growth.