Anthurium ‘Zara’ is a vigorous 2022 F4 DocBlock hybrid expressing dramatic red-brown hues in leaf development. It retains distinctive “red-eyes” where the petiole emerges from behind the leaf. The reverse side of the leaf is equally intriguing, with red-burgundy veins running through light pink colors. That verso side evolves to eventually express light green with darker contrasting veins. As the leaves mature, their hues evolve into rich shades of velvety dark green with colorful veins prominently displayed on both the front AND the back of the leaf!
Seed Parent: Anthurium magnificum; Pollen Parent: Cultivar of Anthurium crystallinum with notably red leaves.
This unique hybrid brings two distinct features: 1. Leaf color hues featuring primary red, and 2. A medium to large-sized leaf…
1. Successive generations of parent plants were selected to express primary red colors… approaching “fire engine” red! The earliest generation seed parents were selected for their emerging red leaves and growth vigor. F3 Anthurium species’ pollen parents were selected for similar features.
2. The breeder also noted that several larger Anthurium species’ leafs not infrequently feature similar structural veins at the point where their petioles emerge. At this point, primary vein patterns often branch at right angles to the leaf’s vertical axis. By focusing on where the petiole… hence, the leaves vascular support structure emerges, the (physician) hybridizer visualized that this feature could be anthropomorphologically regarded as having “strong, square shoulders”. This feature was theorized as being capable of supporting a large-sized leaf.
