Report of new cultivar

Dendrobium ´Maravillosa Habana´. New orchid hybrid for Cuba

Lorenzo Suárez-Guerra^{1  *} 
http://orcid.org/0000-0002-6014-9005

Georvis Téllez Beltrán¹ 
http://orcid.org/0000-0002-8440-6563

¹Instituto Nacional de Ciencias Agrícolas (INCA), carretera San José-Tapaste, km 3½, Gaveta Postal 1, San José de las Lajas, Mayabeque, Cuba. CP 32 700

ABSTRACT

Dendrobiums are part of the most cultivated orchid genus in the world, thanks to their easy cultivation and the large number of hybrids obtained in different shapes, colors and sizes. This paper presents the main characteristics of a new Dendrobium cultivar, 'Maravillosa Habana', which is the result of pollination between Dendrobium 'Tropical classic' and Dendrobium 'Olawan Lakeland'. It is registered and published in the database of the Royal Horticultural Society of England, Orchids Review Supplement 2020.

Key words: artificial pollination; in vitro culture; ornamental plants; ornamentals

INTRODUCTION

Several Dendrobium cultivars rank fourth in sales among floricultural products, after the Palms, Dracaena and Anthurium. The genus includes species native to all of East Asia, Australia and New Zealand. Genetic improvement has allowed them to be part of the most cultivated orchids in the world and their hybrids of various shapes, colors and sizes, give this genus great commercial importance at international level.

ORIGIN

Dendrobium 'Maravillosa Habana', is the result of artificial pollination carried out in November 2014 between Dendrobium 'Tropical classic' and Dendrobium 'Olawan Lakeland', both present in private collections in Cuba. The hybrid seeds were grown in vitro in Murashige Skook culture medium at 75 % of total salt concentration and without growth regulators, at the end of 10 months after sowing plants that reached 5 cm in height and presence of roots were transferred to acclimatization. The first plants flowered in September 2019.

CHARACTERISTICS

Epiphytic plant. Erect stems with nodes. Lanceolate leaves 14.0 cm long and 3.0 cm wide. Terminal and subterminal inflorescence, 30.0- 35.0 cm long and variable number of flowers. Flowers 6.5-7.0 cm in diameter. Sepals and petals pink with deep purple veins. Sepals’ linear, 3.0-3.5 cm long and 1.3-1.5 cm wide. Petals concave, oblong-lanceolate, reflexed, 3.8- 4.0 cm wide, 3.3-3.5 cm long. Labellum veined pink with purple ridges, 4.0 cm long, 2.5 cm wide covering pink column (Figure 1).

Figure 1 Front view of Dendrobium ´Maravillosa Habana´ 

Received: January 20, 2021; Accepted: September 16, 2021

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