Patent Publication Number: US-6134-P

Title: Dwarf schefflera named Covette

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates to a new and distinctive cultivar of schefflera plant named Covette. Covette is a sport of an unnamed cultivar of Schefflera arboricola. The parent cultivar is unpatented but available commercially. 
     The genus Schefflera includes over 150 widely-distributed species of shrubs and trees of the family Araliaceae. These species typically have compound leaves (racks), the leaflets of which are arranged finger-fashion, and are generally long-stalked. One species from Australia, S. actinophylla, is thought by some to comprise a separate genus (Brassaia). In any event, S. actinophylla is popular as a house plant, having glossy-green, lanceolate leaflets, usually 5 to 7 per cluster, that have some serration. 
     Another Schefflera species of Taiwanese origin, S. arboricola (also known as &#34;Hawaiian Elf&#34;), is a freely branching plant of dwarf habit, resembling when young a miniature Brassaia (S. actinophylla). The obovate-shaped leaflets of S. arboricola are arranged in racks of up to 15 cm across, comprising 7 to 8 leaflets. While the combination in S. arboricola of hardy dwarf habit and tree-like appearance is desirable, a dull (non-glossy) leaf has contributed to making S. arboricola less popular as a decorative plant than S. actinophylla. 
     The new cultivar of the present invention was discovered by me in Stuart, Fla., as a mutation of an unnamed plant of S. arboricola. More specifically, the mutation was observed initially as a single branch growing from one plant of the parent cultivar, in a cultivated area. By asexual reproduction, via soil-rooted stem cuttings, of the new cultivar in Stuart, Fla., I have reproduced the unique features of the new cultivar through successive propagations. The cultivar, as asexually reproduced, is characterized by a compact form (approximately 30 inches wide and 38 inches high) and, like the parent cultivar, by vigorous growth, but additionally possesses foliage that differs substantially from the parent cultivar, for example, in leaf size, shape and texture. 
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING 
     The first sheet depicts a typical specimen of `Covette`; and, 
     The second sheet depicts the large leaved parent; S. arboricola held by hand (with watch), and `Covette` (hand held). 
    
    
     DETAILED BOTANICAL DESCRIPTION 
     The accompanying colored photographs illustrate the new cultivar and show, as clearly as it is reasonably possible, the differences in plant form and foliage that distinguish the new cultivar from the parent and from other cultivars of this species with which I am familiar. The photograph comprising sheet 1 is a perspective view of a schefflera plant, approximately six months in age, of my new cultivar Covette. 
     The photograph comprising sheet 2 is a close-up, comparative view of foliage racks of the parent cultivar, Covette, and a typical commercial cultivar of the species S. actinophylla, respectively. More specifically, an S. actinophylla rack appears in the foreground of the photograph; some three to four racks of S. arboricola, the parent, appear in the upper left; and a rack of my new cultivar is seen just right of center. (Above the aforesaid Covette rack, in the upper right corner of the photograph, is another immature rack of the new cultivar, comprising leaflets approximately six weeks in age.) Because the photograph was taken in direct sunlight, the leaf colors do not correspond precisely to those reported in the following table. However, the leaflet glossiness of my new cultivar, comparing favorable with the relative dullness of the parent, is readily apparent. 
     The following table provides a detailed description of my new Schefflera cultivar based on plants produced under commercial practices in the test fields of Florida Cuttings, Inc. (Stuart, Fla.). Color references are made to The Royal Horticultural Society Colour Chart (R.H.S.) except where general color terms of ordinary dictionary significance have been used. The table compares the noted characteristics of Covette with the same characteristics of its parent cultivar, with a further comparison being made to a typical commercial cultivar of the species S. actinophylla. 
     The leaves of the new cultivar, like those of the parent, are generally smooth-edged and lacking in serrations. But the leaves of the parent cultivar are thicker and less pliable (are &#34;harder&#34;) than the leaves of the new cultivar, which also has a glossy leaf texture that is quite unlike the dull leaf texture of the parent S. arboricola. Thus, the new cultivar possesses the much desired leaf glossiness which is characteristic of S. actinophylla. In other aspects, such as leaf length and internodal distance, the new cultivar is situated in appearance somewhere between S. actinophylla and the parent cultivar, S. arboricola. The stem color of S. actinophylla, for example, has a decidedly purple tinge, while S. arboricola stem color is a solid, medium green. The stem color of my new cultivar, on the other hand, is dark green with purple discontinuities. 
     My new cultivar is also unusually disease- and pest-resistant. For example, the new cultivar will flourish without treatment with pesticides over an extended period which would leave the parent, if similarly untreated, severely damaged by aphids and other insects. Unlike S. actinophylla, Covette is resistant to a wide variety of diseases, including scale, and is generally resistant to infestation, e.g., by spider mites which typically infest S. actinophylla plants. 
     As mentioned previously, the new cultivar is readily propagated asexually by stem cuttings. Indeed, Covette plants grown for seven years have yet to produce seed, while S. arboricola plants generally bear seed after three to four years of growth. (By contrast, S. actinophylla plants usually must be grown ten years or longer before producing seed.) In addition, a stem cutting of my new cultivar can be rooted in soil and grown to commercial size (approximately 36 inches tall) in only some four months, or about twice as fast as required to carry out the same procedure for a S. arboricola stem cutting. 
     The following chart summarizes the outstanding characteristics of `Covette` compared with S. actinophylla and S. arboricola: 
     
         ______________________________________                                    
                      S. arboricola                                       
Foliage               (parent                                             
Description                                                               
           New Cultivar                                                   
                      cultivar)  S. actinophylla                          
______________________________________                                    
Leaf Shape:                                                               
           oblanceolate                                                   
                      obovate, with                                       
                                 lanceolate, with                         
                      acuminate tip                                       
                                 acuminate tip                            
Average Leaf                                                              
           13.3 cm    7.4 cm     19.3 cm                                  
Length: (approx.)                                                         
Leaf Thickness/                                                           
           medium     hard       soft                                     
Pliability:                                                               
Leaf Texture:                                                             
           glossy     nonglossy  glossy                                   
Color of   dark green,                                                    
                      dark green,                                         
                                 medium green                             
Foliage    approximating                                                  
                      approximating                                       
                                 approximating                            
(mature):  RHS 147A   RHS 147A   RHS 146A                                 
Average Stem                                                              
           18.3 cm    9.7 cm     24.1 cm                                  
Length (approx.):                                                         
Internodal 5.0-7.6 cm 2.5-4.4 cm 1.9-6.3 cm                               
Distance                         (significant                             
                                 variation)                               
Ribs &amp; Veins                                                              
           larger and many tiny  many small                               
           fewer than veins; about                                        
                                 veins; about 0.6                         
           parent; about                                                  
                      0.6 cm apart                                        
                                 cm apart                                 
           1.9 cm apart                                                   
Leaflets (and                                                             
           7-8 (up to 25                                                  
                      7-8 (up to 15                                       
                                 5-7 (up to 30                            
coverage) per                                                             
           cm)        cm)        cm)                                      
rack:                                                                     
Disease &amp; Pest                                                            
           generally re-                                                  
                      susceptible to                                      
                                 susceptible to a                         
Resistance:                                                               
           sistant to aphids     wide variety of                          
           disease and                                                    
                      disease and                                         
           infestation           pests                                    
______________________________________                                    
 *Measurements conducted together, in normal sunlight at about 2:11 p.m.  
 (EST), on December 27, 1985, in Stuart, Florida, using plants of about th
 same age (6 months) which were raised under substantially the same growin
 conditions (approximate average temperature: 75° F.)