A Vast Array of Beauty: The Accomplishments of the Father of American Ornamental Breeding, Luther Burbank

Abstract

<jats:p>Luther Burbank (1849–1926) was a prolific ornamental plant breeder, who worked with 91 genera of ornamentals, from <jats:italic>Abutilon</jats:italic> to <jats:italic>Zinnia</jats:italic>, and released nearly 1000 cultivars to the industry. His innovative work included both herbaceous and woody plant materials as well as ornamental vegetables such as corn, tomatoes, and spineless cacti. His most popular ornamental release, the shasta daisy hybrids—first released in 1901, is still on the global market. This article focuses on Luther Burbank’s breeding techniques with ornamental plants and how both the germplasms that he developed and his methodologies used permeate modern flower breeding. Genera with the highest number of cultivars bred and released by Burbank include <jats:italic>Amaryllis</jats:italic>, <jats:italic>Hippeastrum</jats:italic>, and <jats:italic>Crinum</jats:italic> followed by <jats:italic>Lilium</jats:italic>, <jats:italic>Hemerocallis</jats:italic>, <jats:italic>Watsonia</jats:italic>, <jats:italic>Papaver</jats:italic>, <jats:italic>Gladiolus</jats:italic>, <jats:italic>Dahlia</jats:italic>, and <jats:italic>Rosa.</jats:italic> With <jats:italic>Lilium</jats:italic>, he pioneered breeding the North American native lily species, particularly those from the Pacific coastal region, producing the eponymous <jats:italic>Lilium</jats:italic> ×<jats:italic>burbankii</jats:italic>. Burbank’s breeding enterprise was designed to be self-sustaining based on profits from selling the entire product line of a new cultivar or crop only to wholesale firms, who then held exclusives for propagation and selling, although financial hardships necessitated selling retail occasionally. Entire lots of selected seedlings were sold to the highest bidder with Burbank setting the price in his annual catalogs such as the Burbank Hybrid Lilies lot for U.S. $250,000 or some of the “very handsome, hardy ones” for U.S. $250 to U.S. $10,000 each. Other flower cultivars also commanded high prices such as seedling Giant <jats:italic>Amaryllis</jats:italic> that sold for U.S. $1.55/bulb in 1909. Cacti were another area of emphasis (he released more than 63 cultivars) from the spineless fruiting and forage types (<jats:italic>Opuntia ficus-indica</jats:italic>, <jats:italic>O. tuna</jats:italic>, <jats:italic>O. vulgaris</jats:italic>) to flowering ornamentals such as <jats:italic>O. basilaris</jats:italic>, <jats:italic>Cereus chilensis</jats:italic>, and <jats:italic>Echinopsis mulleri.</jats:italic> Interest in cacti during 1909–15 rivaled the Dutch Tulip mania with exorbitant fees for a single “slab” of a cultivar, speculative investments, controversy with noted cacti specialists (particularly David Griffiths), and lawsuits by The Burbank Company. Although most cultivars have been lost, Burbank’s reputation as the Father of American Ornamental Breeding remains admirable from critics and devotees alike.</jats:p>

Global Actions for Managing Cactus Invasions

“…While the international trade in cactus species for agricultural uses has declined over time (and only 4% of the people answering the questionnaire mentioned this pathway), the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the European Union still funds projects to promote the uses of cacti, aiming to reduce the impacts of climate change and land degradation [45]. Mostly spineless varieties of Opuntia species, which are believed to be non-invasive [46], are being exported around the world for this purpose [47]. However, both field observations (e.g.…”

Evaluation of Cyphocleonus trisulcatus (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) as a potential biological control agent for Leucanthemum vulgare in North America

“…In addition, the probability that C. trisulcatus encounters Shasta daisy is likely to be low in Europe, because the weevil is considered as rare (Rheinheimer & Hassler, ). This would likely change once C. trisulcatus is released in North America, where it is expected to build up high population densities, and Shasta daisies are very popular garden flowers (Anderson & Olsen, ). We did not experimentally measure the impact of larval feeding on Shasta daisy but our observations indicate that the damage caused by C. trisulcatus on Shasta daisy is comparable to the damage observed on L. vulgare .…”

“…In summary, our study provides evidence that, despite its considerable impact on L. vulgare , C. trisulcatus is not a suitable biological control agent for L. vulgare in North America because the risk of non‐target attack and damage of Shasta daisies is considered to be too high. In North America, Shasta daisies are among the most beloved garden flowers and of significant value to the ornamental nursery industry (Anderson & Olsen, ), which is also evidenced by a study that evaluated 36 cultivars for their suitability to grow them in the northern parts of North America (Hawke, ). Nevertheless, C. trisulcatus may be a suitable biological control agent of L. vulgare on continents where Shasta daisy is not as popular as in North America.…”

“…maximum, L. lacustre and another Asteraceae species, that was introduced by the famous American plant breeder Luther Burbank in 1901 (Tahara, ). In North America, numerous varieties of Shasta daisy are widely grown as horticultural plants, mostly in home gardens (Anderson & Olsen, ; Hawke, ).…”

Host Range and Impact of Dichrorampha aeratana, the First Potential Biological Control Agent for Leucanthemum vulgare in North America and Australia

“…Samp., and another Asteraceae species that was developed by the famous American plant breeder, Luther Burbank in 1901 [ 16 ]. In North America, numerous cultivars of Shasta daisy are widely grown as ornamental plants, mostly in home gardens [ 17 , 18 ]. In Australia, Shasta daisy is a less popular garden or container grown ornamental, and is occasionally used in the cut flower industry.…”