The Philippine Agricultural Scientist Vol. 89 No. 1 (March 2006) 85

The Origin and Characterization of Two New Mussaenda Hybrids T. L. Rosario and F. B. AurigueTHE PHILIPPINE AGRICULTURAL SCIENTIST ISSN 0031-7454Vol. 89 No. 1, 85-90March 2006

Germplasm and NewGermplasm and NewGermplasm and NewGermplasm and NewGermplasm and New Cultivars or Breeds Cultivars or Breeds Cultivars or Breeds Cultivars or Breeds Cultivars or Breeds

The Origin and Characterization of Two New Mussaenda Hybrids

T. L. Rosario1* and F. B. Aurigue2

1Department of Horticulture, College of Agriculture, University of the Philippines Los Baos, College, Laguna, Philip-pines2 Philippine Nuclear Research Institute, Diliman, Quezon City, Philippines

*Author for correspondence: e-mail: tl_rosario@yahoo.com

Hybrids of mussaendas are being developed continuously by the College of Agriculture, University ofthe Philippines Los Baos. Two new hybrids namely, M. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and M. ZenaidaUmali are hereby being named and characterized.

M. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo is a cross between M. Doa Evangelina (with red bracts) and M.Doa Aurora (with white bracts). The bracts are 4.0 x 1.7 - 4.0 x 2.1 cm, oblong to ovate elliptic,basically white suffused with tiny rose areas and with claret rose margin. The flowers are orpimentorange, 1.5-1.8 cm across and sterile. It was named after the incumbent President of the Philippinesand daughter of former President Diosdado Macapagal and former First Lady Evangelina Macapagal.

M. Zenaida Umali is one of the progenies generated from the embryo rescue of (M. philippica x M.Doa Aurora) x M. Paraluman. The bracts of the female parent are creamy white while those of themale parent are claret rose with paler veins. M. Zenaida Umali has creamy white bracts which are 6.5x 4.0 - 8.0 x 4.5 cm in size, obovate, with veins slightly sunken giving the bracts a puckered, slightlycupping downward appearance. The flowers are sulfur yellow, 2.2 - 2.4 cm across and semi-fertile.This hybrid was named after the wife of Dr. Dioscoro L. Umali, former Dean of the College of Agricultureand who initiated the development of the mussaenda hybrids in the 1940s with the assistance of Mrs.Umali.

Key words: calyx lobes, embryo rescue, Mussaenda, Mussaenda philippica, petaloid, Rubiaceae

INTRODUCTION

The genus Mussaenda (Family: Rubiaceae) is character-ized by the development of one or more of the calyx lobesinto a large, colorful petaloid structure. Several cultivarsof mussaenda have been produced at the University ofthe Philippines Los Baos (UPLB) and traditionally, theyare named after the First Ladies of the Philippines (Table 1)and addressed as Doa as in Doa Aurora.

Crop improvement in mussaendas is a continuing ef-fort at UPLB, hence, new cultivars are developed regu-larly. One of them was named after Maria Clara, a characterportraying a typical Filipina in the book Noli Me Tangereby Jose P. Rizal, the countrys national hero. Still another

cultivar was named Maria Makiling, after the legendarygoddess of Mount Makiling as a tribute to her beauty andfertility; UPLB is nestled at the foot of this mountain. Therest of the mussaendas were given Filipino names synony-mous to the word muse. These names are titles given toFilipino ladies chosen for their poise, grace, beauty andintelligence. These mussaendas are Mutya, Diwata,Paraluman and Bathaluman (Rosario 1998). They are allofficially registered with the National Seed Industry Coun-cil (NSIC), Department of Agriculture (DA).

The most recently developed varieties/hybrids are M.Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and M. Zenaida Umali; bothare officially registered with the NSIC. The origin and char-acteristics of these two hybrids are presented in this paper.

86 The Philippine Agricultural Scientist Vol. 89 No. 1 (March 2006)

The Origin and Characterization of Two New Mussaenda Hybrids T. L. Rosario and F. B. Aurigue

Table 1. Cultivated mussaendas named after the First Ladies of the Philippines

Year Named First Lady President Year of Incumbency

1974 Hilaria Emilio F. Aguinaldo 1897-19011938 Aurora Manuel L. Quezon 1935-19441962 Esperanza Sergio Osmea 1944-19461974 Paciencia Jose P. Laurel* 19451946 Trining Manuel A. Roxas 1946-19481952 Alicia Elpidio E. Quirino 1948-19531958 Luz Ramon R. Magsaysay 1953-19571962 Leonila Carlos P. Romulo 1957-19611962 Evangelina Diosdado P. Macapagal 1961-19641967 Imelda Ferdinand E. Marcos 1964-19861998 Amelita Fidel V. Ramos 1992-1998

* Speaker Jose P. Laurel acted as President of the Republic when President Manuel L.Quezon was in Australia during the Second World War.

Mussaenda Gloria Macapagal ArroyoThis hybrid was named after the incumbent Lady Presi-dent and daughter of a former President of the Philippines(Table 1). In 1962, a mussaenda cultivar, M. DoaEvangelina was named after her mother as a former FirstLady. This cultivar was used as the female parent of M.Gloria Macapagal Arroyo (Fig.1). The male parent wasM. Doa Aurora. The characteristics of the hybrid andthe parents are shown in Table 2.

Mussaenda Zenaida UmaliThe development of the mussaenda cultivars was initiatedby Dr. Dioscoro L. Umali, a prominent plant breeder andformer Dean of the College of Agriculture, University ofthe Philippines, using M. Doa Aurora as one of the par-ents. M. Doa Aurora, with all its white calyx lobes en-larged, is a mutant of M. philippica, a native species andhas only one of its calyx lobes enlarged. Since ornamentalswere not a priority crop in the 1940s and 1950s, the wife ofDr. Umali assisted in the care and maintenance of the hy-brid seedlings. In recognition of her efforts, Dr. Umaliplanned to name one of the hybrids after her, but she de-clined. After Dr. Umalis demise, she graciously consentedin naming a hybrid after her, hence, the name M. ZenaidaUmali.

This hybrid is one of the progenies generated from theembryo rescue of ( M. philippica x M. Doa Aurora) x M.Paraluman (Fig. 2). The female parent is a hybrid of M.philippica and M. Doa Aurora which have creamy towhite bracts. The characteristics of M. Zenaida Umali andits parents are shown in Table 3.

Mussaenda hybrids that were developed earlier showdimorphism (Siar and Rosario 2001) in terms of style lengthand the position relative to the anther. M. GloriaMacapagal-Arroyo and M. Zenaida Umali are thrum typesbecause their anther is higher than their stigma. The femaleparents of both hybrids are pin types, that is, the stigma ishigher than the anther.

NSIC registration number:For M. Zenaida Umali NSIC 2001 Orn 49For M. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo NSIC 2001 Orn 50

Developers:For M. Zenaida Umali

- Dr. Teresita L. RosarioDepartment of Horticulture, UPLB

- Mr. Fernando B. AurigueFormer University Research AssociateDepartment of Horticulture, UPLB;Currently with the Philippine NuclearResearch Institute, Diliman, Quezon City

For M. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo- Dr. Teresita L. Rosario

Department of Horticulture, UPLB

The hybrids were approved by the National Seed IndustryCouncil (NSIC), Department of Agriculture for registrationin 2001.

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The Origin and Characterization of Two New Mussaenda Hybrids T. L. Rosario and F. B. Aurigue

Fig. 1.Fig. 1.Fig. 1.Fig. 1.Fig. 1. The making of M. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo

M. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo

Doa Evangelina Doa Aurora

X

88 The Philippine Agricultural Scientist Vol. 89 No. 1 (March 2006)

The Origin and Characterization of Two New Mussaenda Hybrids T. L. Rosario and F. B. Aurigue

Table 2. Characteristics of M. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and its parents

M. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo M. Doa Evangelina M. Doa Aurora

Bract Color Basically white suffused with tiny Solid red (45A-B) to Greenish whiteempire rose (48C) areas; very thin, currant red (46A) (157C)claret rose (50A) margin

Size 4.0 x 1.7 4.0 x 2.1 cm 4.0 x 2.0 6.5 x 4.0 cm 4.5 x 2.5 6.5 x 3.5 cm

Other characteristics Oblong to ovate elliptic with Ovate lanceolate with Oblong to ovate elliptic;short pink hair; limpy with age short red hairs; veins limpy with age

underneath reddish;limpy with age

Flower Color Orpiment orange (25A); Sulphur yellow (6A); Orpiment orange (25A);yellowish at center reddish brown to blood yellowish at center

red at center radiatingslightly to petals; reddishhairs underneath

Size across 1.5 1.8 cm 2.1 2.3 cm 1.2 cm

Corolla tube length (cm) 2.5; with reddish hairs 1.9 2.3; stout; 1.8 2.5;at the upper half with dense reddish light yellow-green

brown hairs

Throat With dense brownish hairs With dense brownish With dense yellowred hairs hairs

Style length 0.7 cm 1.5 cm 0.7 0.8 cm

Stigma lobes Thin; 2.0 mm long Thick; open; Thin; 2.0 mm fromsometimes exserted; throat; 5.0 mm long6.0 9.0 mm long

Anther Above stigma; 2.0 mm Below stigma; 10.0 mm Above stigma; 2.0 mmfrom throat; 5.0 mm long from throat; 5.0 mm long from throat; 5.0 mm

long

Pollen fertility Sterile Sterile 34.1%

Leaf Texture and color Smooth; dark green when young; Upper surface hairy; Smooth; dark green;basal midvein reddish light green; veins pinkish; midrib ivory

petiole hairy

Other Nodes/stipules Stipules and young nodes Stipules and young Tiny stipules green; dryCharac- with light red hairs; stipules nodes/stem with up with ageteristics dry up with age short red hairs;

stipules dry up with age

The Philippine Agricultural Scientist Vol. 89 No. 1 (March 2006) 89

The Origin and Characterization of Two New Mussaenda Hybrids T. L. Rosario and F. B. Aurigue

M. Zenaida Umali

(M. philippica X Doa Aurora) Paraluman

X

Fig. 2.Fig. 2.Fig. 2.Fig. 2.Fig. 2. The making of M. Zenaida Umali

90 The Philippine Agricultural Scientist Vol. 89 No. 1 (March 2006)

The Origin and Characterization of Two New Mussaenda Hybrids T. L. Rosario and F. B. Aurigue

Table 3. Characteristics of M. Zenaida Umali and its parents

M. Zenaida Umali (M. philippica X M. ParalumanDoa Aurora)

Bract Color Creamy white to white Creamy white with Claret rose (50A-B)greenish tips with paler veins

Size (cm) 6.5 x 4.0 8.0 x 4.5 9.1 x 3.4 9.25 x 4.7 5.0 x 4.0 8.0 x 6.0

Other characteristics Obovate; veins slightly Oblong to ovate elliptic, Obovate; one bractsunken, giving the bract limpy with age much larger than thea puckered appearance; rest; midvein palerslightly cuppeddownward; wholeinflorescence compactand full

Flower Color Sulphur yellow (6A); light Cadmium orange Lemon yellow (13A);brown hairs at center (23B) center yellow with

brownish ring of hairsSize across 2.2 2.4 cm 1.2 1.7 cm 1.8 2.2 cm

Corolla tube length 2.6 3.0; 1.2 1.9 cm; 2.2 2.5 cm;pale yellow green light yellow green with red hairs

Throat With dense yellow hairs No hairs With dense yellowhairs

Style length 1.2 1.5 cm 0.8 1.7 cm 1.5 cm

Stigma lobes Thin; 5.0 mm long Thick; 5.0 7.0 Thick; open; 5.00 mmmm long; longslightly exserted

Anther Above stigma; Below stigma; Above stigma;2.0 mm from throat 7-9 mm from throat; 5.0 mm from throat;

5.0 mm long 5.0 mm long

Pollen fertility 20.8% 0% (sterile) 25.27%

Leaf Texture and color Smooth; green to dark Smooth; dark green; Light green with shortgreen; midrib underneath midrib underneath ivory hairs; underneath palevery pale pink pink midrib and veins

Other Nodes/stipules Stipule short, light green; Stipules short; green; Young nodes pale pink;characteristics dry up with age dry up with age stipules with hair at

edges and tips; dry upwith age

ACKNOWLEDGMENT

The authors gratefully acknowledge the assistance of Ms.Marilou B. Mendoza in the conduct of the study.

REFERENCES CITED

ROSARIO TL. 1998. Ornamental Mussaendas of the Philip-pines. College, Laguna, Philippines: College of Agriculture,University of the Philippines Los Baos. 70 p.

SIAR SV, ROSARIO TL. 2001. Heterostyly in Mussaenda I.Dimorphism in floral characters of the pin and thrummorphs. Philipp Agric Scientist 84 (1): 64-71.

The Royal Horticultural Society Colour Chart. 1966. London.