Totem Pole Switch Grass Cultivar with Columnar Habit
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Solution Overview
Problem
There is a need for a new cultivar of switch grass that retains blue-green foliage color into fall, has an upright and columnar growth habit, and produces airy, tan seed heads that persist through winter, which are distinct from existing switch grass cultivars.
Innovation Solution
Panicum virgatum 'Totem Pole' is a new cultivar developed through open pollination, characterized by its tall, broad gray-green foliage, upright, columnar growth, and retained winter panicles, which is asexually propagated and stable across generations.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If existing switch grass cultivars are used, then they provide various growth habits and colors, but they fail to simultaneously achieve blue-green foliage retention into fall, upright columnar growth, and winter panicle persistence
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies parameter changes by selecting and stabilizing specific phenotypic parameters (blue-green foliage color, upright columnar growth habit, panicle persistence) through controlled breeding and open pollination. The cultivar 'Totem Pole' represents a stabilized combination of these parameters that distinguishes it from parent plants and other switch grass cultivars.
2Length of moving object
If switch grass cultivars are selected for tall growth, then height is improved, but foliage color retention and growth habit uniformity may be compromised
Solution Approach 1:
The breeding process employed feedback mechanisms by observing and selecting plants that exhibited the desired combination of tall height, blue-green foliage retention, and upright columnar growth habit. The selected plant was open-pollinated and the offspring were evaluated to confirm stable inheritance of these traits across generations.
Solution Approach 2:
The cultivar represents a stabilized parameter combination where height (200 cm), foliage color (blue-green), and growth habit (upright columnar) are consistently maintained. This parameter stabilization was achieved through selective breeding and verification across multiple generations of asexual reproduction.
3Shape
If new cultivar characteristics are developed, then distinctiveness is improved, but propagation stability across generations may be challenged
Solution Approach 1:
The stability of the columnar growth habit was verified through feedback from observing multiple generations of asexually propagated plants. The cultivar 'Totem Pole' was confirmed to reproduce true-to-type, maintaining its distinctive upright columnar form and blue-green foliage color consistently across generations.
Data Source
AI summary
The new and distinct plant of ornamental switch grass named Panicum virgatum ‘Totem Pole’ with broad blue-green foliage that retains it coloration into the fall. The upright, columnar and dense culms produce tall plant with broadly-spreading airy panicles of tan seed heads that are retained into winter.