HORTSCIENCE, VOL. 31(4), AUGUST 1996 564 Abstracts Contributed Papers (Oral and Poster) Colloquia Workshops 93rd Annual Conference of the American Society for Horticultural Science Lexington, Kentucky, USA 6–10 October 1996 The Abstracts that follow are arranged by type of session (Orals first, then Posters, Workshops, Colloquia, Collegiate Branch Posters, Collegiate Branch Orals). The Poster abstract numbers cor- respond to the Poster Board number at which the Poster will be presented. To determine when a paper is to be presented, check the session number in the Program Sched- ule or the Conference at a Glance charts. The Author presenting the paper is indicated by an asterisk. 001 Florida Red Ruffles and Florida Irish Lace: Two New Lance- leaf Caladium Cultivars Gary J. Wilfret*, Univ. of Florida, IFAS, Gulf Coast Research & Education Center, 5007 60th St. E., Bradenton, FL 34203 Two lance-leaf caladium cultivars are to be released from the ornamental breed- ing program at the University of Florida. ‘Red Ruffles’, whose pedigree is Red Frill x (‘Red Frill’ x ‘Candidum Jr.’), has elongated medium red leaves with ruffled green margins. Plants are upright with strong petioles, have leaf blades 25 cm long and 14 cm wide, and attain a height of 61 cm when grown in full sun in the field. Plants have more leaves and are more cold tolerant than ‘Red Frill’, the major red lance-leaf cultivar of commerce. Tuber yields of ‘Red Ruffles’ are simi- lar to ‘Red Frill’ but less than ‘Rosalie’, with production indices of 95.0, 97.8, and 121.0, respectively. Foliage of ‘Red Ruffles’ is more upright and less likely to elongate under reduced light than the other cultivars. ‘Irish Lace’, an F 2 selection from a cross of “Candidum Jr.’ x “Red Frill’, has elongated dark green leaves with heavily ruffled margins, which are etched with a thin red border. Leaf blades are 26 cm long and 8 cm wide and have heavy substance. Plant height is 65 cm in the field. Tuber yields of ‘Irish Lace’ are greater than ‘White Wing’, a major green/ white cultivar. Use of a green caladium would be as a border or a mixture with red or white lance-leaf cultivars. 28 ORAL SESSION 1 (Abstr. 001–005) Breeding and Genetics–Floriculture I