In cherry news, 🍒 the Canadian government will be able to pursue its allegations of plant patent infringement against two US fruit companies at trial.

The US District Court (E. Wash.) denied the motion for summary judgment on Monday.
worldipreview.com/news/canada-s-… The dispute concerns #PlantPatent 20,551 (granted Dec. 15, 2009) owned by @AAFC_Canada, for a cherry tree variety named "13S2009" and sold under the trademark STACCATO.

How did poinsettias become a symbol of the Christmas holiday in the United States?

It is a story that involves plant patents, trade secrets, and a broken monopoly. Poinsettias are famous for their brightly coloured leaves or “bracts” (not flowers!), which range from the popular red to pink, creamy-white, and variegated colours.

The plant is native to Mexico and Central America, where it is also known by the Aztec name, cuetlaxochitl.

Get ready for a GIANT avocado plant patent thread…

The most famous is, of course, “Hass” (#PlantPatent 139)

Many say it was the first plant patent for an avocado tree

But that’s not true… The first patent for an avocado (#PlantPatent 100) was awarded to Mrs Jennie C. Gano, a year before the Hass patent.

Newspapers articles about the former seamstress described how she “found success with a little ranch and five dollars.”

Let's talk about the infamous plant patent for ayahuasca...

This is "DA VINE," a variety of Banisteriopsis caapi, or yagé (#PlantPatent 5,751)

Many thanks to @UMDLibraries for providing me with the colour images last week! The patent raised concerns of “biopiracy”

The term was coined in the 1990s to describe how intellectual property (especially patents) is used to appropriate Indigenous knowledge and plants, without permission or compensation.
theconversation.com/biopiracy-when…