Colour variation ofBanksia menziesiiblooms for cut flower production

Abstract

Colour variation of inflorescences of seedling plants of Banksia menziesii was investigated in a commercial cut flower plantation. Red, pink, apricot and yellow variants were identified, and classified by visual matching of styles and perianths with RHS colour charts. Inflorescence colour types differed from each other in the predominant colours of style and perianth. There was a significant trend for blooms produced by all plants to increase in redness as the season progressed and as the daily mean minimum and maximum temperatures declined. Colour-stable genotypes were identified in all colour classes, and this indicates that selection of novel colour types of B. menziesii is possible, but bloom colour stability is an important selection criterion. Selection for yellow and apricot types must be carried out late in the flowering season, while selection for pink and red types must be done early and late in the season. In situ testing of floral tissue, involving fuming with ammonia and observation of colour...