Rhododendron Cultivars P

'Palestrina'

Corolla white, about 2 in. wide, with green markings at the base of the three upper lobes. Spring leaves bright green, up to 2 in. long, with impressed veins; persistent leaves darker, up to 1 in. long. An erect shrub, building up to a conical bush about 4 ft high, very free-flowering in May. It was raised in Holland from a Malvaticum-Kaempferi hybrid and shows strongly the influence of Mucronatum, which is one of the parents of ‘Malvaticum’. It is puzzling that there is another clone grown under the name ‘Palestrina’ which has somewhat smaller flowers with less conspicuous markings, shorter leaves and a horizontal habit. There is also a difference in botanical characters. The flowers of the plant described above have seven or eight stamens and a hairy style; in the horizontal, small-leaved plant, which is nearer to R. kaempferi, the stamens number five and the style is glabrous. The latter, at least in a cold garden, is much the finer of the two, being more floriferous, a better grower and with neater, brighter green winter foliage.

'Pallas'

Vermilion ageing to pink, with a yellow flare on the upper lobe, 2 in. wide; bud and tube dark red (Ghent, before 1875). Tall growing.

'Pauline'

Flowers 15 to 17 in the truss. Corolla funnel-shaped, 3 in. wide, vivid crimson-pink (near Delft Rose), with black markings mainly confined to the centre lobe, merging into a black blotch in the throat. Style pink, with a small dark red stigma. Leaves dark green, 6 by 2 in. Vigorous, compact habit. Late April or early May. (T. H. Lowinsky, distributed by L. de Rothschild. A.M.T. 1957.)

'Peace'

Flowers seven or eight in the truss. Corolla broadly funnel-shaped, 13⁄4 in. wide, greenish yellow in the bud, opening creamy white, but more yellow on the reverse and on the central lobe. Late April. (concatenans × rigidum (caeruleum album); Aberconway. A.M.T. 1946.) The description is made from a plant at Kew growing in full sun by King William’s Temple. In the A.M. description the flowers are said to be flushed with rose externally, so it may be that the Kew plant represents an earlier form of the cross, called ‘Lemon Bill’, also raised at Bodnant. At any rate, the Kew plant is very beautiful.

Penjerrick (campylocarpum × griffithianum)

Flowers slightly fragrant, six to nine in a lax truss on usually red-tinged pedicels 1 1⁄4 to 2 in. long. Corolla pendent, campanulate, up to 4 in. wide, with broad lobes, varying in colour according to the clone: ivory-white, pale yellow, sometimes flushed with pink, or pure pale pink, nectaries often coloured crimson. Leaves glossy, dark or medium green above, grey-green beneath, obtuse at the apex, slightly cordate at the base, 5 to 6 in. long, half as wide. Tall, rather sparsely branched shrubs, flowering in April.

This hybrid, considered by some to be the most beautiful of all, has been raised in many gardens, but the best known are the ‘Penjerricks of Penjerrick’, which were bred by Samuel Smith, the head gardener there for many years. The second Lord Aberconway greatly admired the Smith plants and procured some of the surplus for Bodnant, where they still grow (Journ. R.H.S., Vol. 76 (1951), pp. 259–61; Rhodo. Soc. Notes, Vol. III, pp. 253–4). Penjerrick is available from nurserymen in various shades, but none of this set has received a clonal name.

The first gardener to make the cross between R. campylocarpum and R. griffithianum was H. J. Mangles of Valewood, Haslemere. After his death the seedlings were taken to the garden of his brother and sister at Littleworth Cross, and one of these, named ‘Mrs Kingsmill’, received an A.M. in 1911, when shown by Miss Mangles. This was said in the original description to have creamy white flowers, though what is sometimes seen under the name at the present time has light yellow flowers with green pedicels. Apparently another of the Mangles seedlings was known as ‘Mrs Randall Davidson’, but whether this was ever propagated it is impossible to say, nor has any authentic description of it been traced.

Rhododendron Penjerrick at Exbury, Hampshire, UK. 18 April 2008. Image John Anderson.

Rhododendron Penjerrick in the Savill Garden, Windsor Great Park, UK. 18 April 2008. Image John Anderson.

'Perdita'

In ‘Perdita’ (A.M. 1948) the corolla is less spotted and pinker (Rothschild Rhododendrons, pls. 51–2).

See notes for Halcyone (Lady Bessborough × souliei) Group.

Rhododendron 'Perdita' at Exbury, Hampshire, UK. 28 May 2014. Image John Anderson.

Perseverance (cinnabarinum var. roylei × 'Lady Chamberlain')

‘Lady Chamberlain’ being itself three-quarters R. cinnabarinum, this hybrid comes even nearer to that species. There is apparently only one clone from the original cross, which was made by Murray Adams-Acton and registered in 1942. The corollas are bright apricot inside and on the lobes, the tube coral-pink on the outside. It is very hardy and free-flowering.

'Persil'

White with a buttercup-yellow flare, 21⁄4 in. wide; trusses compact, with up to twenty flowers. Raised in the Knap Hill Nursery and distributed by Messrs Slocock. Although classed as a Knap Hill, it is near to the Ghents.

Rhododendron 'Persil' at Cherry Tree Arboretum, Shropshire, UK. 11 May 2023. Image Tom Christian.

'Persimmon'

In ‘Persimmon’ the corolla is deep, glowing red speckled with black dots, and the calyx is smaller (Rothschild Rhododendrons, pl. 11).

See notes for Golden Horn (dichroanthum × elliottii) Group

'Phalarope'

This is a clonal selection from hybrids between R. davidsonianum and R. pemakoense, raised by Peter Cox and distributed by Glendoick Gardens Ltd. In the plant seen, which may not be the clone ‘Phalarope’, the flowers are produced from both the terminal and upper axillary buds, making a cluster of about ten. Corolla mauvish pink, unspeckled, 11⁄2 to 13⁄4 in. wide. Leaves narrow-obovate or narrow-elliptic, 1 to 11⁄4 in. long. A small, neat bush, very free-flowering in late April or early May.

Rhododendron 'Phalarope' in Ray Wood, Castle Howard, North Yorkshire, UK, 5 April 2026. Image John Grimshaw.

'Philip Waterer'

Flowers 12 to 15 in a conical truss; rachis 3 in. long. Corolla almost flat, about 41⁄2 in. wide, wavy at the margins, soft rose with darker veins, unspeckled. Stamens pale rose with greyish anthers. Style stout, rose-coloured, with a pale yellow stigma. End-May or early June. (Waterer, Bagshot. A.M. 1924.) A striking hybrid, which has ‘Mrs E. C. Stirling’ as one parent.

'Phoebe'

Double, sulphur-yellow with a darker tube (Rustica fl.-pl.; C. Vuylsteke, 1888).

Rhododendron 'Phébé' in John Ravenscroft's impressive azalea collection at Cherry Tree Arboretum, Shropshire, UK. 1 May 2026. Image Tom Christian.

Rhododendron 'Phébé' at Cherry Tree Arboretum, Shropshire, UK. 1 May 2026. Image Tom Christian.

'Phoeniceum'

This azalea with reddish-purple flowers, now only of historical interest, was introduced to Britain in 1824, and was at one time much used as a stock for grafting the Indian azaleas, also, to some extent, as a parent in their breeding. Its taxonomic status is uncertain, but Wilson considered it to be either a form of R. scabrum, a native of the Ryukyus, or a hybrid between it and R. mucronatum (which he regarded as a good species). The botanical name R. phoeniceum was first published by G. Don in 1834, but two years earlier an azalea raised by William Smith of Norbiton and said to be a hybrid of ‘Phoeniceum’, had been named R. pulchrum by Sweet. Wilson considered this to be not a hybrid but simply a seedling variant of ‘Phoeniceum’, and in consequence the name R. pulchrum Sweet has been used for this ‘species’. But no useful purpose is served, either botanical or horticultural, in subjecting these complex garden productions to orthodox taxonomic treatment. R. scabrum, R. macrosepalum, and R. ripense have been cultivated in Japanese gardens for several centuries and have given rise to a swarm of hybrids and forms of which ‘Phoeniceum’ and similar azaleas are a part. For clones usually placed under R. pulchrum see ‘Maxwellii’ and ‘Tebotan’.

'Picotee'

Flowers in a dense globular truss of about 14. Corolla 2 in. wide, white, with a narrow edge of lilac-pink, with slight speckling near the lower edges of the central lobe. Anthers white, flushed with pink. Moderate size. Late May or early June. (Waterer, Knap Hill.) Pretty and unusual.

'Pink Cherub'

Flowers 15 to 20 in a dense, rounded truss. Corolla funnel-shaped, 2 in. wide, wavy at the margin, lilac-pink (67d), paling to white in the centre, with greenish-yellow speckling on the upper lobe. Leaves dark dull green, 5 by 11⁄2 in. Dwarf, compact habit. Late May. (R. yakushimanum × ‘Doncaster’. A.M.T. 1968.) This is one of the hybrids of the Yakushima rhododendron raised by Messrs Waterer Sons and Crisp and recently put into commerce.

'Pink Diamond'

Light pink, holding its colour well. F.C.C. 1914.

See notes for Loderi group

Rhododendron 'Pink Diamond', one of the Loderi group (Haldon Grange, Devon, UK; 2 May 2024). Image Julian Sutton.

The widely-planted Loderi Rhododendron 'Pink Diamond' at Exbury, Hampshire, UK. 18 May 2009. Image John Anderson.

Rhododendron 'Pink Diamond' at Exbury, Hampshire, UK. 18 May 2009. Image John Anderson.

'Pink Drift'

Flowers about three per truss, each truss at the end of a short twig. Corolla 1 in. wide, rotate, pale mauvish pink. Leaves dull olive-green, mostly acute, to about 7⁄8 in. long; terminal buds brown. Dwarf, dense and twiggy. May. (calostrotum × scintillans; H. White, Sunningdale Nurseries.) The flowers could be better coloured, but they are borne in great profusion, and the foliage and habit is excellent.

'Pink Pearl'

Flowers about 18 in a large conical truss; rachis 3 in. long; pedicels 1 to 13⁄4 in. long, glandular. Corolla broadly funnel-shaped, 33⁄4 to 4 in. wide, slightly waved at the edge, soft pink passing to a bluer shade as the flowers age and becoming almost white before they fall, speckled with brown on the upper lobes. Stamen-filaments and style pinkish. Anthers mauve. Calyx-lobes short, roundish. Vigorous; reasonably compact when grown in sun. A.M. 1897; F.C.C. 1900; A.G.M. 1952.

This famous hybrid was raised by John Waterer and Sons of Bagshot and first exhibited by them at the Temple Show in 1896. Of its parentage, F. G. Waterer wrote in 1903: ‘There has been a great deal of discussion as to its parentage, and although I do not in the present article intend to give its immediate parents, we can say that it was raised from the results of crossing two hardy hybrids, and is not, as has been said, a direct Aucklandii seedling; yet it throws back to that strain’ (Fl. and Sylva, Vol. 1, p. 272). It is now generally accepted that the hybrid of R. griffithianum used was ‘George Hardy’ (q.v.) and that the other parent was ‘Cynthia’ or ‘Broughtonii’, probably the former.

More than three-quarters of a century after it made its appearance ‘Pink Pearl’ is still one of the most popular of rhododendrons. The fashion now is to disparage it, but discriminating judges of an earlier generation admired it very much. Despite its sumptuous truss it is a very tough and hardy rhododendron, and free-flowering almost to excess, even when young. Its greatest fault is that the flowers, beautifully coloured when they first expand, fade to an impure shade of pink. For all that, it is best grown in almost full sun, since in the degree of shade that might suit more demanding hybrids the pink tends to ‘blue’ and the habit of the plant becomes ungainly.

Less well-known than ‘Pink Pearl’ is its branch-sport ‘Mother of Pearl’, in which the flowers are pale mauvish pink in the bud when first open, becoming pure white. It received an Award of Merit in 1930. Another branch-sport from ‘Pink Pearl’ is ‘Topsvoort Pearl’, raised in Holland.

For an interesting article on ‘Pink Pearl’ and its progeny by Frederick Street, see R.Y.B. 1950, pp. 61–71 (reprinted in his Hardy Rhododendrons (1953), Chap. 5).

'Pink Pebble'

Flowers four or five in the truss on reddish, glandular pedicels. Corolla between bell- and bowl-shaped, 2 in. wide, vivid crimson in the bud, opening rosy pink inside, darker on the reverse. Anthers dark brown. Style glandular to the tip with a small green stigma. Compact habit. Mid-May (callimorphum × williamsianum; Lt-Gen. Harrison, Tremeer, Cornwall, 1954). Unlike many species-hybrids from R. williamsianum, this is very free-flowering when young, and also has the merit of making its young growth late. A.M. May 20, 1975.

'Pippa'

Corolla Petunia Purple, slightly speckled on the upper lobes, 21⁄2 in. wide, with rather narrow lobes. Stamens eight, their filaments coloured like the corolla. Style reddish. Mid-May. Low, spreading, open habit. A beautiful azalea, raised by Lionel de Rothschild, obviously deriving partly from R. kaempferi; as in some other hybrids of this species the tube is translucent, giving a yellow glow to the centre of the flowers and brightening its colour. ‘Pippa’ also shows the influence of Mucronatum, especially in its foliage. R. oldhamii does not enter into its parentage, as erroneously stated in the International Register. It is superior to ‘Atalanta’, which differs in its slightly deeper less pure colouring, white style and filaments, and mostly five stamens; also in its denser habit.

Polar Bear (auriculatum × diaprepes)

Flowers fragrant, eight to ten in a lax truss. Corolla tubular at the base, widely expanded at the mouth where it is about 4 1⁄2 in. across, seven-lobed, pure white, with green speckling in the throat merging into a green blotch at the very base. Leaves soft green, whitish beneath, mostly oblong-elliptic or elliptic, slightly cordate at the base, up to 1 ft long and 4 in. wide on strong shoots, excluding the petiole. Very vigorous and eventually a tree. Late July or August. (Stevenson 1926. F.C.C. 1946.) Apart from being too large for most gardens, this hybrid has two faults: the corollas are of rather flimsy texture and tend to brown badly in hot weather; and the foliage is too light in colour to serve as a foil to the flowers. Although hardy, it needs a sheltered position, where it will make growths 1 1⁄2 ft long in a damp summer (but such growths come from sterile shoots, not from below flower-trusses).

Rhododendron Polar Bear in the Savill Garden, Windsor Great Park, UK. 14 July 2022. Image John Anderson.

Rhododendron Polar Bear in the Valley Gardens, Windsor Great Park, UK. 26 July 2016. Image John Anderson.

'Port Knap'

Corolla 3⁄4 to 7⁄8 in. wide, with a short tube and spreading limb, Phlox Purple. Early May. Low, spreading habit. Raised at the Knap Hill Nursery. A.M.T. May 13, 1958. It is near to R. kiusianum.

Praecox (ciliatum × dauricum)

Flowers in twos and threes from buds clustered at the ends of the shoots. Corolla widely funnel-shaped, 11⁄2 to 13⁄4 in. across, of a beautiful rosy purple. Leaves more or less persistent through the winter, dark glossy green and sparsely bristly above, lower surface paler, scaly. A shrub of compact habit, to 4 or 5 ft. February or March. (Isaac Davies, Larkfield Nursery, Wavertree, nr Liverpool, cross made 1853.)

The history of this lovely hybrid is that in 1853 Isaac Davies, who later moved his nursery to Ormskirk, put the pollen of R. ciliatum onto R. dauricum (not the other way about, as wrongly stated in the International Register). This is the first recorded use in hybridising of R. ciliatum, which had been introduced by Hooker in 1850 and first flowered in 1851 or 1852. The hybrids were flowering by 1858 and exhibited in the following year.

Flowering so early in the spring, R. Praecox can be a sad disappointment in low-lying gardens, where its flowers or buds are cut almost every year by frost. Yet there are many gardens south of London with good air-drainage where it is almost as reliable in its display as the snowdrop or winter aconite.

Two of the seedlings raised by Isaac Davies were distinct enough to be named separately. One was ‘Praecox Superbum’, of which nothing is known except that it eventually turned out to be almost deciduous. The other was ‘Praecox Rubrum’. This was mentioned in the original description of Praecox and was later figured in Garden, Vol. 38 (1890), t. 761. The flowers are darker than in the typical form.

It is recorded that in 1874 Messrs Veitch had a plant in their Coombe Wood Nursery known as ‘Praecox Grandiflorum’. It is possibly the same as ‘Early Gem’, which received a First Class Certificate in the same year. This was said to be useful for forcing and was described four years later in Gard. Chron., 1878, p. 336. It was said to be a backcross of R. Praecox onto R. dauricum, though from the characters given it would seem to be nearer to R. ciliatum.

Probably of the same parentage as Praecox is ‘Emasculum’. This has the flowers solitary or in pairs at the end of the shoot. Corolla 11⁄2 to 2 in. wide, pale lilac-purple, unspotted. Calyx scarcely lobed, scaly. Stamens none or aborted. Style glabrous. It grows to about 6 ft high and flowers some two or three weeks later than Praecox – in March or early April. Nothing is known of its origin, but according to William Watson it was grown by Messrs Veitch in their Coombe Wood nursery as “R. amoenum”.

Rhododendron Praecox grex at the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh (19698794). 25 February 2024. Image Tom Christian.

Rhododendron Praecox grex at the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh (19698794). 25 February 2024. Image Tom Christian.

Rhododendron Praecox grex at the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh (19698794). 25 February 2024. Image Tom Christian.

'Pride of Leonardslee'

The finest forms of Luscombei are those raised by Sir E. Loder at Leonardslee, of which ‘Pride of Leonardslee’ is a named clone.

Rhododendron 'Pride of Leonardslee' in the Valley Gardens, Windsor Great Park, UK. 20 April 2020. Image John Anderson.

'Prince Camille de Rohan'

This is similar to ‘Chevalier Felix de Sauvage’, but the flowers are paler pink and the leaves relatively narrower, about 51⁄2 by 15⁄8 in. It was raised by Waelbrouck, secretary of the Conseil Communal of Ghent, and put into commerce by Verschaffelt in 1855. The prince admired it in his nursery, so it was named after him.

'Princess Alice'

Flowers deliciously fragrant, mostly in threes on stout white-hairy pedicels about 3⁄4 in. long, almost 1⁄8 in. thick. Corolla funnel-campanulate with a spreading slightly wavy limb, about 3 in. wide, white, tinted pale rose at first, barred with pink on the reverse along the ridges. Calyx green, lobes obtuse, to about 1⁄2 in. long. Leaves dark green, slightly rugose, elliptic-obovate, narrowed to an acuminate apex, up to 4 in. long (on plants grown under glass). Dwarf, lax habit. May. A hybrid between R. ciliatum and R. edgeworthii, raised by Messrs Veitch, and awarded a First Class Certificate in 1862. Since then the cross has been repeated in other gardens, e.g., by Mangles at Valewood, and at Leonardslee. As might be expected from the parentage, it is only slightly tender and should survive most winters near London on a sheltered wall, though usually grown as a conservatory plant.

This hybrid is named after the Princess Alice, daughter of Queen Victoria, who died in 1878.

'Princess Anne'

Flowers up to ten in the truss; rachis about 1 in. long. Corolla funnel-shaped, 1 1⁄4 in. wide, pale clear yellow, greenish outside and with green markings near the base of the upper lobes. Stamens exserted, with brown anthers. Style longer than the stamens, with a small green stigma. Leaves light green, reticulate, up to 13⁄4 in. long. Late April or early May. Dwarf. compact habit (hanceanum × keiskei; Messrs Reuthe, Keston, Kent). A beautiful hybrid, flowering at a season when a dwarf yellow is needed to set off the later Lapponicums.

Rhododendron 'Princess Anne' in the Savill Garden, Windsor Great Park, UK. 22 April 2020. Image John Anderson.

Rhododendron 'Princess Anne' in the Savill Garden, Windsor Great Park, UK. 22 April 2020. Image John Anderson.

'Princess Juliana'

Flowers eight to ten in the truss, slightly fragrant. Corolla campanulate, with a short, broad tube and spreading much-frilled limb, 33⁄4 in. or slightly more wide, pale rose, fading at the centre, not speckled. Leaves dull green, acute, to 7 in. long. Low, spreading habit. May. One of the Schulz hybrids, raised at the Porcelain Factory, Berlin, around 1890 and distributed by C. B. van Nes. A.M. 1910.

'Princess Marina'

Flowers of good substance, 12 in the truss, pale pink fading to white. The result of a cross between ‘King George’ and ‘Sir Edmund’, raised at Leonardslee by Sir Giles Loder, Bt. A.M. 1948.

See notes for Loderi group

'Prins Bernhard'

Corolla 2 in. wide, Geranium Lake, slightly speckled with brown on the upper lobes. Low spreading habit. May (Vuyk van Nes).

'Prinses Juliana'

With soft orange flowers in late May or early June, low growing. (Vuyk van Nes)

'Prof. Hugo de Vries'

Similar to ‘Pink Pearl’, of which it is a hybrid, but its corollas hold their colour better and are darker in the bud; and the leaves are relatively broader, obovate, to 51⁄2 in. long and 23⁄8 in. wide. Botanical differences are that the stamens are stouter with anthers about 3⁄16 wide, against 1⁄8 in. in ‘Pink Pearl’, and the ovary is more sparsely glandular. It flowers towards the end of May. It was raised by L. J. Endtz and Co. of Boskoop, and received an A.M. in 1921. The parentage was given by the raisers as ‘Pink Pearl’ × ‘Doncaster’, which is surprising, since there is scarcely any difference, even botanical, between ‘Prof. Hugo de Vries’ and ‘Countess of Derby’, which is ‘Pink Pearl’ × ‘Cynthia’. But ‘Countess of Derby’ is a more compact grower than ‘Prof. Hugo de Vries’ and flowers later, in early June.

'Prometheus'

Truss compact with 18 flowers on brownish-crimson pedicels. Corolla widely funnel-shaped with a short broad tube, 23⁄8 in. wide, rosy crimson, brighter on the reverse, speckled with black on the central lobe. Tall, rather lax. Early June. (C. Noble.)

Prostigiatum

Another hybrid of R. fastigiatum is Prostigiatum, raised by E. J. P. Magor, of which the other parent is R. prostratum, a member of the Saluenense series. It is a dwarf, twiggy shrub with deep violet-blue flowers 1 in. across, produced in twos or threes, and sea-green leaves about 3⁄4 in. long, densely scaly beneath. A.M. April 8, 1924.

'Ptarmigan'

Flowers in twos or threes. Corolla with a short tube and spreading limb, 11⁄8 in. wide, white. Anthers dark brown. Style scaly at the base. Calyx scaly and ciliate. Leaves more or less elliptic, to 11⁄8 in. long, densely scaly on both sides. Dwarf, spreading. April. (leucaspis × microleucum; P. Cox, Glendoick. F.C.C. 1965.) Very free-flowering.

'Puncta'

The rhododendron sent out by Dutch nurseries as “R. punctatum” and occasionally sold in garden-centres in this country is very similar to ‘Arbutifolium’. Its name has recently been altered to ‘Puncta’, to avoid confusion with R. punctatum Andr., which is a synonym of R. minus.

'Purity'

Flowers about 12 in the truss. Corolla widely funnel-shaped, 2 in. across, lobes rounded at the apex and overlapping, milk-white with a small greenish-brown flare. Leaves narrow-elliptic about 31⁄2 in. long, 1 in. wide, dull green. Medium size. Early June. Probably raised at Knap Hill in the last century. There is an example in the Rhododendron Dell at Kew.

'Purple Emperor'

Flowers 17 to 20 in a dome-shaped truss. Corolla widely funnel-shaped, 3 in. across, wavy at the margins, deep purple, paling towards the centre, with black speckling on the centre lobe. Anthers off-white. Leaves elliptic, acute. Early June. (Waterer, Knap Hill. A.M.T. 1953.)

'Purple Splendour'

Flowers about 15 in a fine, full truss. Corolla broadly funnel-shaped, 3 in. wide, strongly ribbed, wavy-edged, deep purple with a flare of black markings, Anthers yellow, filaments pinkish. Leaves blackish green and reticulate above, oblong-elliptic to about 6 in. long, varying in width from 2 to 2 1⁄2 in., acute to obtuse at the apex; flower-buds often surrounded by reduced leaves or leafy bud-scales. Compact, medium size, vigorous. Late May to mid-June. (Waterer, Knap Hill, before 1900. A.M. 1931.) A splendid rhododendron of the most sumptuous colouring. R. ponticum, R. maximum and R. catawbiense all enter into its ancestry.

Rhododendron 'Purple Splendour' in flower at Harcourt Arboretum near Oxford, UK. 9 June 2015. Image John Anderson.

Rhododendron 'Purple Splendour' at Harcourt Arboretum near Oxford, UK. 9 June 2015. Image John Anderson.

'Purple Triumph'

Corolla 21⁄4 in. wide, slightly waved at the margin, Cyclamen Purple. Spreading habit. May (Vuyk van Nes).

'Purpureum Elegans'

‘Purpureum Elegans’ is similar to ‘Purpureum Grandiflorum’, but the flowers are darker purple, with a ray of brown markings on a lighter ground. They are both old hybrids of R. catawbiense crossed probably with a dark form of R. ponticum, raised at Knap Hill before 1850. Both show the influence of the former in their foliage, and of the latter in their colouring and glabrous ovaries.

'Purpureum Grandiflorum'

Flowers about 14 in the truss. Corolla widely funnel-shaped, 3 in. across, undulated at the margin, violet-purple, with rather inconspicuous green speckling low on the centre lobe.

'Pygmalion'

Flowers about 16 in the truss on reddish-brown pedicels. Corolla widely funnel-shaped, 3 in. wide, crimson-scarlet with a black flare and some crimson markings on the lower lobes. Anthers dark chocolate, on crimson filaments. End-May or early June. (Waterer, Bagshot. A.M.T. 1933.) It bears a slight resemblance to ‘Doncaster’ but is much taller and more vigorous.