ALEXANDRIA, Va., June 17 -- United States Patent no. 12,311,581, issued on May 27.

"Artificial botanicals and methods of making same" was invented by Yi Hsuan Sung (Forest Hills, N.J.).

According to the abstract* released by the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office: "An artificial flower, plant, or other botanical is produced from an aqueous agar-based solidifying mixture. The artificial botanical may be colored as desired by adding one or more colorants. The artificial botanical may also be scented by adding a perfume, odorant, or other scent. Because the artificial botanical is produced using the aqueous agar-based solidifying mixture, no animal-based gelatin products are used. The artificial botanical may thus also be edible and satisfies ve...