Cultivar 'Dr. Who' | Origin 1980 | |
Hybrid parentage Neoregelia hybrid
carolinae × oligantha | ||
'Dr. Who' is a hybrid cultivar of the genus Neoregelia in the Bromeliad family. It is an interspecific cultivated variety derived from the species Neoregelia carolinae and Neoregelia oligantha, both of which are endemic to Brazil.
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Description
According to plant breeder L. Wetzel, Neoregelia 'Dr. Who' is described as a "closed flat rosette" with green to light rose-colored leaves that are 3 inches wide, 8 inches tall, and 12 inches across. A shallow depression at the center of the rosette is vibrant red, and can fill partway with water. Wetzel's specimen originated from the seed of a Neoregelia carolinae bred with pollen from a Neoregelia oligantha. As the genus is classified under the family of Bromeliaceae, Neoregelia are related to the widely-cultivated pineapple (Ananas comosus). However, unlike pineapples, in which the inferior ovaries coalesce into a large seedless fruit on a stalk, plants of the genus Neoregelia form seeds in berries.
Cultivation
Like most Neoregelia, both parent species (carolinae and oligantha) originate from eastern Brazil and thrive in a variety of indoor and outdoor environments. Ideal conditions include warm temperature, partial light, and consistent moisture with drainage. Color change at the center can indicate that the plant is ready to bloom, which results in the formation of inflorescences of dark blue flowers.
Etymology
The root of the genus name, which was originally Regelia in the family Myrtaceae, was in honor of German botanist Eduard August von Regel, superintendent of the Saint Petersburg Botanical Garden in Russia in the 19th century. When the nomenclature of the genus became confusing by the early 1930s, American botanist Lyman Bradford Smith, who specialized in flowering plants of South America, reorganized the Bromeliads under a new genus Neoregelia by adding neo, which means "new" in Greek, to differentiate it from the previous one. Both parent species of Neoregelia 'Dr. Who' were identified by Smith.
Doctor Who refers to the British science-fiction television series which was first broadcast in 1963. The character was credited back in 1963 as "Dr. Who".