Cleopatra Echinacea Cultivar Horizontal Ray Florets Strong Stems
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Solution Overview
Problem
The existing Echinacea cultivars lack unique and strong color variations in horizontal ray florets, with most having taller and weaker stems, which limits their landscape appeal and durability.
Innovation Solution
The development of the 'Cleopatra' Echinacea cultivar, characterized by large, deep yellow, horizontally held ray florets on short, very strong stems, achieved through open pollination and stabilized via in vitro propagation, offering a compact and robust coneflower with distinct color and growth traits.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If existing Echinacea cultivars are used, then they have taller plant height, but they have weaker stems and lack unique strong color variations
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies parameter changes by selectively breeding for specific traits including shorter plant height (52.5 cm) combined with significantly stronger stems. The breeding program modified multiple parameters simultaneously: plant height, stem strength, ray floret color intensity (deep yellow), and horizontal orientation of ray florets, creating a new cultivar that resolves the contradiction between height and stem strength.
2Shape
If existing Echinacea cultivars are used, then they have taller stems, but they have lighter color ray florets and less horizontal orientation
Solution Approach 1:
The breeding program changed multiple parameters including ray floret orientation (achieved horizontal positioning), color intensity (deep yellow), and plant height. The new cultivar exhibits ray florets held horizontally at a shorter plant height of 52.5 cm, with deep yellow coloration that distinguishes it from existing cultivars.
3Quantity of substance
If existing Echinacea cultivars are used, then they have more variety in height, but they lack unique and strong color variations
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies color changes by developing a cultivar with distinctive deep yellow ray florets, contrasting with the lighter yellow or orange hues of existing cultivars. This color modification, combined with horizontal ray floret orientation and compact growth habit, creates unique landscape appeal and visual distinction.
Data Source
AI summary
A new cultivar of hybrid Echinacea, ‘Cleopatra’, characterized by its composite flowers with ray florets that are deep yellow in color and held horizontal, its very strong stems, its short plant height, and its compact plant habit.