The present invention relates to a new and distinct cultivar of Begonia, of the family Begoniaceae, and given the cultivar name, ‘Enchanted Moonlight’. The new cultivar originated from a branch mutation of Begonia ‘Enchanted Evening’ (U.S. Plant Pat. No. 25,512) found in the nursery greenhouse in Canby, Oreg.
This selection is uniquely characterized by:                1. attractive dark chocolate brown leaves with green veins,        2. numerous large white flowers,        3. an upright habit when young, becoming decumbent with maturity,        4. an extremely long bloom time, and        5. excellent vigor.        
Compared to the parent, Begonia ‘Enchanted Evening’ the new cultivar has a white flowers rather than coral-pink flowers.
Compared to the Begonia ‘Unstoppable Upright White’, the new cultivar is more stiffly upright with larger flowers with broader tepals and darker foliage.
The new variety has been reproduced only by asexual propagation (leaf and stem cuttings and tissue culture using growing tips). Each of the progeny exhibits identical characteristics to the original plant. Asexual propagation by micropropagation as done in Canby, Oreg., shows that the foregoing characteristics and distinctions come true to form and are established and transmitted through succeeding propagations. The present invention has not been evaluated under all possible environmental conditions. The phenotype may vary with variations in environment without a change in the genotype of the plant.
USPTO Backgrounds
USPTO Backgrounds