2.7.2.2 Some Specific Requirements for the Written Description of Plant Varieties

Date Published

When describing a plant variety in words, characteristics which may be included are:

  • leaf characteristics (e.g. shape and length);

  • flower characteristics (e.g. colour, size, number of petals, presence or absence of sepals, pollen morphology, carpal and stamen number, etc.);

  • stem characteristics (e.g. branching habits);

  • root characteristics;

  • fruit characteristics;

  • herbicide or pest resistance (if any); and

  • scientific testing characteristics (e.g. isozyme analysis, DNA fingerprinting etc.), if available.

Note: The description of these characteristics should not rely on subjective terms, e.g. robust, tall, bright etc.

Photographs may also be included in the specification. These should capture each of the major characteristics used to describe the plant variety. If the colour of a flower is important, then the colour should be identified with reference to a standard horticultural colour chart (see also 2.29.11 Drawings, Graphics and Photographs).