"CLUJ" CULTIVAR OF ECHINACEA PURPUREA (L.) Moench

The “Cluj” cultivar (Echinacea purpurea (L.) Moench, has been created at Hop and Medicinal Plants Crop Research Center USAMV Cluj-Napoca through repeated mass selection from echinacea that had been imported to our contry and studied in yield trials (with the temporary name CN - 15/92). The biological material from which the “Cluj” cultivar was obtained was presented in terms of morpho-psysiological features, content of active principles in our former papers (3, 4, 5, 8, 10, 12). The breeding activities connected to this cultivar were initiated in 1992 by the Hop and Medicinal Plants Crop Research Center from USAMV Cluj-Napoca and developed after 1995. In 2006 the “Cluj” cultivar was registred for the examination by the National Institute for Cultivar Testing and Certifying in order to be certified and included in the Official list of cultivars. Here are some of the morpho-physiological, productivity and quality features of this cultivar: it is semi late, with a vegetation period of 155-160 days in the second and third years, in the first year the root system is formed and also o leaf rosette and flower stems with a reduced number of flowers, the complete flowering only beginning in the second year of vegetation; it  has fibrous roots, gray-brownish; the part above the soil looks like a bush with 100 (120) cm long stems, with branches, with 8-12 internodes, the last one ended in an inflorescence; the leaves of the rosette are oval lanceolate, with a petiole of 6-12 cm, with a blade of 12-16 (20) cm in length, and 4-8 cm in width, with 5 nervures on the dorsal side; the leaves bush are oval lanceolate, with a short petiole (3-9 cm), a blade of 10-15 (18) cm long, and 4-8 cm wide, with 5 nervures on the dorsal side; the inflorescence (8-15/pl) is ovoid, flat, with an involucres leaflet at the bottom (in 3 - rows), conical receptacle (3-4 cm high, with a diameter of 3-5 cm), the ray flowers are bright red in colors, sterile (4-7 cm in length and 2-4 mm in width), the disc flowers are tubular, orange and hermaphrodite (5-8 mm in length); the flowering takes place in July-August, pollination is made by insects; the fruit (180-210/infl.) is a sided achene, 3-5 mm in length, whitish with rudimentary pappus; the whole plant is covered with rough hair; the yield of herba is 18-22 t/ha; the content of active principles is high in phenil-propanic derivates (2,3-2,5 g %), immunostimulent polysacharides (1-1,5 %) etc., which enhance the immunity sistem, the row material being used for obtaining anti-virus, immunostimulent products etc.