La Belle Rebellion

A new addition to the Photo Library brings with it not only a pretty new face to make you smile, but a naming convention to surely revile. Meet ‘Belle Alliance’, which many of us will know by the name Intermezzo ® . Note the ® .  As has been the case with many other plant groups in the horticulture industry, the ugly business of trademarks has crept in to the world of amaryllises. A cultivar name (literally “cultivated variety”), usually written with ‘single quotes’ around it is the name attached to the description of the plant itself; it is the name of the exact genetic type by which the plant (and its identical propagules) will be known forever. Basically a breeder gave a plant a name, registered the name with an accurate description that was published in some manner, and that was that. Patents, an entirely different animal, are granted after exhaustive documentation to accurately describe a unique variety. Once passing some due scrutiny, the patent owner is granted a lengthy 20 year protection against unlicensed propagation and marketing of said plant. This is a lot of work, so trademark registration of the name, the image, etc. have become the popular sidestep. Registered trademark names, which must be renewed periodically, are indicators of an origin (usually from a breeder or company) of the variety, but not of the variety itself.  Think of them as a brand names. It’s a misleading marketing convention often parading as a true cultivar name, leading to confusion. While Emaryllis respects the rights of breeders to protect their ingenuity and vision, it leaves the end users with mind-numbing confusion when the cultivar names become second class citizens.

Commonly, a trademarking concern creates a cultivar name so flagrantly awkward as to discourage its use in favor of the company’s chosen brand name. Many of the Nieuwkerk bred doubles are such products. But everyone it seems is getting in on the act. See ‘Nivio’ (Violetta) and ‘Magname’ (Magnum) for example. The lovely new entry we have before us now does have a proper (intelligible) cultivar name ‘Belle Alliance’ in addition to its trademark name, Intermezzo. To differentiate a trademark from a cultivar, it is typically written with a bolder typeface or font, in this case INTERMEZZO. Check the official KAVB registry and that name will not show, only the actual cultivar name is allowed. Plantscope will show both names. Emaryllis has always tried to favor cultivar names, but this has become complicated. When a buyer wishing to learn more about their new purchase searches on the trademark name they are blissfully unaware that the plant they admire may have two names (or more…many more for roses in particular). All of this pits the formerly simple rules of horticultural naming against the current powers of commerce who seem hellbent on steamrolling lax trademark regulation, leading to the befuddlement of all. Thanks for the confusion marketing folks, may it someday be your Waterloo!

OK, take a deep breath! None of this can distract from the beauty of this lovely Pascal Berbée  introduction, which is pretty obviously sibling to ‘Ieniemienie’. With four strongly outfacing deep-aging-to-soft orange trumpets regally perched on strong green scapes, it is a welcome addition to the Emaryllis corral. Thankfully, like Berbée’s ‘Concordia’/LUXOR it also has a decipherable, proper cultivar name that we can all live with.