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US Plant Patent PP18573

Sweet Caroline Sweetheart Purple

Ornamental sweetpotato plant named ‘Sweet Caroline Sweetheart Purple’

PUBLIC DOMAIN

Patent expired March 31, 2026. This plant is in the public domain — anyone may propagate and sell it.

No term adjustment or disclaimer is recorded against this patent, so this is the full statutory term — twenty years from the filing date.

Figure 1 of US plant patent PP18573, the photograph of Sweet Caroline Sweetheart Purple printed in the patent.
Figure 1 from US Plant Patent PP18573, reproduced as printed. Photographs in a plant patent are taken by the applicant. Reproduction of the patent document is permitted; the image is shown whole and uncropped for that reason.

The record

Patent number
PP18573
Filed
March 31, 2006
Granted
March 11, 2008
Expires
March 31, 2026
Assignee
UNIV NORTH CAROLINA STATE
Inventor
YENCHO GEORGE CRAIG; PECOTA KENNETH; HANCOCK CHARLES NEWELL

Abstract

Ipomoea batatas ‘Sweet Caroline Sweetheart Purple’ is a compact to moderately-compact cultivar producing many shoots and having dense foliage. This cultivar is distinguishable from other cultivars by its small to medium-sized heart- to spade-shaped dark purple leaves. The plant has a good vigor, but is less vigorous than Ipomoea batatas ‘Margarita’ and ‘Blackie’ and unlike these cultivars, ‘Sweet Caroline Sweetheart Purple’ may be grown in containers with other species. The production of flowers by ‘Sweet Caroline Sweetheart Purple’ is relatively rare even under short day conditions.

Show the legal claimThe single numbered claim as granted — the legal text that defines what this patent covers.

1. A new and distinct cultivar of Ipomoea batatas plant named ‘Sweet Caroline Sweetheart Purple’, substantially as illustrated and described herein.

Read the full patent: US Plant Patent PP18573 in full — the complete specification, every figure, and the file history.