Latin name of the genus and species: The Latin name of the novel, ornamental plant variety disclosed herein isIpomoea batatas(L.) Lam.

Variety denomination: The inventive cultivar ofIpomoea batatasdisclosed herein has been given the varietal denomination ‘NCORNSP-027SCMG’.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Ipomoea batatasis a member of the morning glory family Convolvulaceae. This species is grown worldwide and it exhibits a wide range of plant forms and colors. The cultivated members ofIpomoea batatasgrown by farmers worldwide are commonly produced for consumption of their nutritious, enlarged storage roots. These types typically produce a fast growing green vine that has a wide variety of leaf shapes ranging from palmate and deeply lobed, to cordate or triangular shaped leaves with no lobes.

Like their edible forms,Ipomoea batatasornamental sweetpotato plants are a heat-loving, drought-tolerant, perennial vine typically grown as an annual. However, ornamental sweetpotato plants are distinguished from the edible cultivated forms in that they often do not produce attractive, enlarged storage roots suitable for human consumption. Instead, they possess unique foliage colors, leaf shapes, and growth habits, which have significant value in the ornamental marketplace.

Ornamental sweetpotatoes are desirable in the landscape and ornamental industries because their foliage comes in a wide variety of colors (e.g., pale yellow to dark purple with some exhibiting temporal and individual leaf color variegation patterns) and plant shapes (e.g., mounded and very compact to prostrate and highly spreading). They can be grown in a potted plant and/or mixed planting format, and they have the ability to cover a large space or hang over walls and decorative pots creating brightly colored and textured backdrops in gardens and patios. Most ornamental sweetpotatoes grow and last the entire growing season and they require little maintenance. Moreover, these plants have few insect or disease problems.

To meet the growing horticultural demand for ornamental sweetpotatoes, it is desirable to produce new cultivars of ornamental sweetpotato with new or improved foliage colors, variegation patterns, leaf shapes, and plant architectures. In addition, it would be advantageous to develop cultivars of ornamental sweetpotato exhibiting a more compact growth that do not out-compete other species in mixed containers.

‘NCORNSP-027SCMG’ was bred to meet the increasing demand for new ornamental sweetpotatoes. ‘NCORNSP-027SCMG’ is a compact, non-twining, upright variety producing many short shoots. It is distinguishable from other ornamental sweetpotato cultivars by its palmate, deeply lobed leaves with 5-9 lobes, a compact habit and semi-erect mounding plant architecture. The yellow-green (RHS 144B) leaves, short internodes, and the plant architecture, which promotes good plant production in the greenhouse for wholesale distributors, distinguishes ‘NCORNSP-027SCMG’ amongst the current ornamental sweetpotatoes in the marketplace. ‘NCORNSP-027SCMG’ exhibits very good vigor and is very well branched. In greenhouse and field trials conducted since 2016 by the breeding program and industry collaborators ‘NCORNSP-027SCMG’ has been shown to be much less vigorous thanIpomoea batatas‘Margarita’ and ‘Blackie’ and is suitable for use as a landscape or containerized plant. ‘NCORNSP-027SCMG’ has not been observed to produce flowers under short- or long-day conditions.

Lineage. ‘NCORNSP-027SCMG’ (breeding designation NC9174-005ORN) originated from hand-pollinated seed from the proprietaryIpomoea batatasbreeding lines NC8720-027ORN (the female parent; not patented) and NC8568-001ORN (the male parent; not patented). Botanical seed was harvested from ornamental lines grafted onto a flower-inducingI. setosasweetpotato line in greenhouses between October 2014 and April 2015 in Raleigh, N.C. NC8720-027ORN resulted from hand-pollinated seed harvested from the proprietaryIpomoea batatasbreeding lines NC8148-006ORN (the female parent; not patented) and NC8124-001ORN (the male parent; not patented). NC8568-001ORN resulted from open pollinated seed collected from NC8249-010ORN (the female parent; not patented). Botanical seed from this family were planted in the greenhouse in December 2015. The first cycle of selection on the population was exercised at the seedling tray stage and each survivor was transferred to a single 6-inch pot, which was then maintained in the greenhouse. Cuttings (2 each) were taken from the plants in April and planted in the field as unreplicated 2-plant plots, during mid-June 2016. The single, individual plant now known as ‘NCORNSP-027SCMG’ was selected Sep. 25, 2016 because of its combination of exceptional features, and it has been propagated asexually since that time.

Asexual Reproduction. Since its selection,Ipomoea batatas‘NCORNSP-027SCMG’ has been asexually reproduced in Raleigh, N.C. predominantly by vegetative propagation of vine cuttings. Successively, there have been seven cycles of vegetative propagation, one cycle of tissue culture micropropagation, and multiple vegetative propagation cycles to increase plant numbers. Asexual reproduction of ‘NCORNSP-027SCMG’ by cuttings has shown that the unique features of the new cultivar are stable and the plant reproduces true to type in successive generations.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

‘NCORNSP-027SCMG’ is a compact, non-twining, semi-upright variety producing many short shoots. It is distinguishable from other cultivars by its palmate, deeply lobed leaves with 5-9 lobes, a compact habit and semi-erect mounding plant architecture. The yellow-green (RHS 144B) leaves, deep lobing, quantity of lobes, short internodes, and the plant architecture distinguishes ‘NCORNSP-027SCMG’ amongst the current ornamental sweetpotatoes in the marketplace. ‘NCORNSP-027SCMG’ also exhibits good vigor and is very well branched, a growth habit that promotes good plant production in the greenhouse for wholesale distributors. In greenhouse and field trials conducted since 2016, ‘NCORNSP-027SCMG’ has been shown to be a much less vigorous vine producer thanIpomoea batatas‘Margarita’ and ‘Blackie’ and is suitable for use as a landscape or containerized plant. ‘NCORNSP-027SCMG’ has not been observed to produce flowers under short- or long-day conditions.

