A plant on campus broke the world record for being the tallest of its kind Friday.

Agronomy curator David Brenner grew the tallest amaranthus, an annual flower commonly known as Prince’s Feather.

The plant grew to 15.1 feet, beating the previous world record by 3.4 feet.

To qualify for the world record award, Brenner had to prepare an application and have two independent witnesses verify the plant’s height. The Guinness Book of World Records then accepted the application, and the amaranthus officially broke the record on Friday.

“I felt triumphant and proud to have broken the record,” Brenner said.

This is the first award that he has won for his amaranthus.

“The record-breaking was inevitable,” said Mark Millard, curator for agronomy. “The record was not that big at the time, and David maintains the world’s collection of the germplasm of the genus Amaranthus. We have seen very tall amaranthus here at the station several times.”

A germplasm is all of the genetic variations of amaranthus germ cells and seeds in a species.

Brenner has about 40 species of amaranthas in the germplasm collection of the Plant Introduction Station, where he is curator.

“We were a little worried this year because amaranthus like hot weather, and this August was unusually cool,” Millard said.

The record-breaking amaranthus had to be cut down because Brenner did not want it to become a weed or grow into any of the other local amaranthus flowers.

“The plant would not have been able to survive frost either,” Brenner said.

The world record-winning Amaranthus australis was planted in April 2004. It was grown in a greenhouse at Iowa State until it germinated and was moved outside when it was the size of a pencil.

“The amaranthus didn’t need a lot of special treatment,” Brenner said. “It was the special seeds that gave us a huge advantage.”

The cultivated forms of the plant, which are pollinated by wind and insects, are useful for producing nutritious grain and foliage and colorful flowers.

“I hope people will look at the plants as a source of biomass, which means growing big plants that can be cultivated and used for something,” Brenner said.

Brenner is currently working to improve methods for growth and controlled pollination in seed regeneration and distributing seeds around the world for breeding and other research projects.

He also participates in committees to improve communication among breeders and other users of seed collections.

“Summer 2004 was not a very hot summer,” said Mark Widrlechner, assistant professor and collaborator of agronomy. “I suspect that David could cultivate plants that break his own record in a warmer year.”