Senecio plant named ‘Sunsenesopi’

Botanical description: Senecio cruentus×Senecio heritieri.

Cultivar denomination: ‘SUNSENESOPI’.

The present invention relates to a new and distinct cultivar of Senecio plant, botanically known as Senecio cruentus×Senecio heritieri, and hereinafter referred to by the name ‘Sunsenebatubu’.

The new Senecio is a product of a planned breeding program conducted by the Inventor in Yamanashi, Japan. The objective of the program is to create and develop new Senecio cultivars with uniformly mounded plant habit, freely flowering habit and attractive inflorescence coloration.

The new Senecio originated from a cross-pollination by the Inventor in January, 1996 of the Senecio cruentus cultivar Extra Pink, not patented, as the female, or seed, parent with a proprietary selection of Senecio heritieri identified as code number 6S-134A, not patented, as the male, or pollen, parent. The new Senecio was discovered and selected by the Inventor as a single flowering plant within the progeny of the stated cross-pollination in a controlled environment in Yamanashi, Japan.

Asexual reproduction of the new Senecio by terminal cuttings in a controlled environment in Shiga, Japan since March, 1999, has shown that the unique features of this new Senecio are stable and reproduced true to type in successive generations.

The cultivar Sunsenebatubu has not been observed under all possible environmental conditions. The phenotype may vary somewhat with variations in environment such as temperature, daylength and light intensity, without, however, any variance in genotype.

The following traits have been repeatedly observed and are determined to be the unique characteristics of ‘Sunsenebatubu’. These characteristics in combination distinguish ‘Sunsenebatubu’ as a new and distinct cultivar of Senecio:

1. Compact, upright and mounded plant habit. 2. Freely branching growth habit. 3. Freely flowering habit. 4. Daisy-type inflorescences with elliptic-shaped ray florets that are light pink in color.

In side-by-side comparisons conducted in Shiga, Japan, plants of the new Senecio differ from plants of the female parent, the cultivar Extra Pink, in the following characteristics:

1. Plants of the new Senecio are taller than plants of the cultivar Extra Pink. 2. Plants of the new Senecio have larger inflorescences than plants of the cultivar Extra Pink.

In side-by-side comparisons conducted in Shiga, Japan, plants of the new Senecio differ from plants of the male parent selection in the following characteristics:

1. Plants of the new Senecio have larger leaves than plants of the male parent selection. 2. Plants of the new Senecio and the male parent selection differ in ray floret color as plants of the male parent selection have white-colored ray florets.

Plants of the new Senecio can be compared to plants of the Senecio cultivar Sunsenerapi, disclosed in U.S. Plant Pat. No. 16,568. In side-by-side comparisons conducted in Shiga, Japan, plants of the new Senecio differed from plants of the cultivar Sunsenerapi in the following characteristics:

1. Plants of the new Senecio were smaller than plants of the cultivar Sunsenerapi. 2. Plants of the new Senecio had smaller leaves than plants of the cultivar Sunsenerapi. 3. Plants of the new Senecio had smaller inflorescences than plants of the cultivar Sunsenerapi. 4. Ray florets of plants of the new Senecio were slightly lighter in color than ray florets of plants of the cultivar Sunsenerapi.

The accompanying photographs illustrate the overall appearance of the new Senecio. This photographs shows the colors as true as it is reasonably possible to obtain in colored reproductions of this type. Colors in the photographs may differ slightly from the color values cited in the detailed botanical description which accurately describe the colors of the new Senecio.

The photograph at the top of the sheet comprises a side perspective view of a typical flowering plant of ‘Sunsenebatubu’ grown in a container.

The photograph at the bottom of the sheet is a close-up view of typical inflorescences of ‘Sunsenebatubu’.

In the following description, color references are made to The Royal Horticultural Society Colour Chart, 2001 Edition, except where general terms of ordinary dictionary significance are used. The aforementioned photographs, following observations and measurements describe plants grown in Shiga, Japan during the summer and autumn in a polyethylene-covered greenhouse and under conditions and practices which approximate those generally used in commercial Senecio production. During the production of the plants, day temperatures ranged from 15° C. to 30° C. and night temperatures ranged from 13° C. to 20° C. Measurements and numerical values represent averages for typical flowering plants. Plants were about five months old when the photographs and description were taken.

Botanical classification: Senecio cruentus×Senecio heritieri cultivar Sunsenebatubu. Parentage:

Female, or seed, parent.—Senecio cruentus cultivar Extra Pink, not patented. Male, or pollen, parent. —Proprietary selection of Senecio heritieri identified as code number 6S-134A, not patented.

Propagation:

Type. —Terminal vegetative cuttings. Time to initiate roots. —About one week at 20° C. Time to produce a rooted cutting. —About four weeks at 20° C. Root description. —Fine, fibrous; light brown in color. Rooting habit. —Freely branching.

Plant description:

Plant form/growth habit. —Compact, upright and mounded plant habit. Inflorescences positioned well above the foliar plane. Vigorous growth habit. Plant height. —About 26.3 cm. Plant diameter. —About 30 cm. Lateral branches. —Quantity per plant: Freely branching, about eight lateral branches per plant; pinching enhances branching. Length: About 19 cm. Diameter: About 2.5 mm. Internode length: About 1.7 cm. Strength: Strong. Texture: Smooth, glabrous. Color: 144A. Foliage description. —Arrangement: Alternate, simple. Length: About 4.6 cm. Width: About 4.9 cm. Shape: Roughly cordate. Apex: Acute. Base: Cordate. Margin: Crenate; weakly undulate. Texture, upper surface: Sparsely pubescent. Texture, lower surface: Densely pubescent. Venation pattern: Pinnate; reticulate. Color: Developing and fully expanded foliage, upper surface: 137C; venation, 194C. Developing and fully expanded foliage, lower surface: 191B; venation, 194C. Petiole length: About 3 cm. Petiole diameter: About 1.7 mm. Petiole texture, upper and lower surfaces: Sparsely pubescent. Petiole color, upper and lower surfaces: 144C.

Inflorescence description:

Appearance. —Daisy-type inflorescence form with elliptic-shaped ray florets. Inflorescences positioned above the foliage, arising from leaf axils. Disc and ray florets developing acropetally on a capitulum. Inflorescences face mostly upright. Freely flowering habit with numerous inflorescences developing over time per plant. Inflorescences persistent. Fragrance. —Faintly scented. Flowering response. —In Shiga, Japan, plants of the new Senecio flower continuously from spring to autumn. Inflorescences last about two weeks on the plant. Inflorescence bud. —Height: About 6 mm. Diameter: About 5.8 mm. Shape: Globose. Color: 137D. Inflorescence size. —Diameter: About 4.3 cm. Depth (height): About 1 cm. Disc diameter: About 9 mm. Ray florets. —Shape: Elliptic. Length: About 1.4 cm. Width: About 6.5 cm. Apex: Rounded, emarginate or praemorse. Base: Obtuse. Margin: Entire. Texture, upper and lower surfaces: Smooth, glabrous; satiny. Number of ray florets per inflorescence: About 13 in a single whorl. Color: When opening and fully opened, upper surface: 75D. When opening and fully opened, lower surface: 76D. Disc florets. —Shape: Tubular; apex dentate, five-pointed. Length: About 6.2 mm. Diameter: About 1.4 mm. Number of disc florets per inflorescence: About 101. Color, immature: 84D. Color, mature: N155D. Phyllaries. —Quantity per inflorescence: About 14 in a single whorl. Length: About 4.1 mm. Width: About 1.4 mm. Shape: Lanceolate. Apex: Acute. Base: Fused. Margin: Entire. Texture, upper and lower surfaces: Smooth, glabrous. Color, upper and lower surfaces: 137D. Peduncles. —Length: About 3 cm to 5 cm. Diameter: About 1.4 mm. Strength: Strong. Aspect: Mostly upright. Texture: Smooth, glabrous. Color: 144A. Reproductive organs. —Androecium: Present on disc florets only. Anther shape: Ellipsoidal. Anther color: N187A. Pollen amount: Scarce. Pollen color: 17B. Gynoecium: Present on both ray and disc florets. Stigma shape: Bi-parted. Stigma color: 17B. Seeds/fruit. —Seed and fruit development has not been observed on plants of the new Senecio.

Disease/pest resistance: Plants of the new Senecio have not been shown to be resistant to pathogens and pests common to Senecio. Temperature tolerance: Plants of the new Senecio have been observed to tolerate temperatures ranging from about 0° C. to about 30° C.