Plants in the Hortus
Many of the plants described here were listed in the catalogues of plants published by Sir William Macarthur in 1843, 1845, 1850 and 1857 and in an unpublished catalogue dated 1861. A large number of additional plants were identified from correspondence, gardening notebooks and other documents surviving in the archives. The Hortus attempts to describe all the plants grown in the gardens at Camden Park and those grown in horticultural enterprises such as orchards and vineyards and includes plants grown outside the gardens in the park-like environs of the Camden Park estate. The Hortus plants served a wide range of purposes in the 19th century household; as ornament, living fences, fibre, dyestuffs, medicines, food and drink from the garden, orchard and vineyard and many others.
Ipomoea purpurea (L.) Roth var. major
Frost tender, annual twining climber with slender, hairy and bristly stems, ovate, entire or 3-lobed leaves, to 10cm long, and cymes of 3-7, sometimes single, trumpet-shaped flowers in pink, purple-blue, magenta or white, sometimes striped, mainly in summer. To 3m. [RHSE, Hortus].
Ipomoea purpurea (L.) Roth. var. violacea
For a brief description of the species see Ipomoea purpurea (L.) Roth. var. major. Violacea has deep violet or violet-purple flowers. A double flowered form also exists.
Ipomoea quamoclit L.
Frost tender annual twining climber with deeply divided, feathery leaves and slender-tubed, scarlet, sometimes pink or white, flowers in summer. To 6m. [RHSE, Hortus]. Attractive as much for its feathery foliage as for its striking flowers.
Ipomoea tricolor Cav.
Tender deciduous twiner with cordate leaves and reddish-blue trumpet-shaped flowers. Often grown as an annual. [JD, RHSD, Hortus].
Ipomopsis beyrichii [Macarthur]
I have been unable to identify a plant under the name of Ipomopsos beyrichii or approximating to this name.
Ipomopsis rubra (L.) Wherry
Half hardy, erect, unbranched perennial with pinnate leaves with needle-like segments, to 2.5cm in a basal rosette, and scarlet, tubular flowers, to 2.5cm, red and yellow spotted inside, in summer and autumn. To 2m. [RHSD, Hortus].
Iris aphylla L. subsp. hungarica
Iris aphylla is a rhizomatous, dwarf bearded iris with grey-green leaves and branched stems bearing 1-5 purple or blue-violet flowers with yellow-tipped white beards in spring. To 30cm. [RHSE]. The variety hungarica is often taller than the type.
Iris decora Wall.
A rhizomatous, beardless iris with ribbed, linear leaves and branched or unbranched stems with 1-3 short-lived, slightly flattened, lavender-blue or purple fragrant flowers with an orange crest, in summer. To 30cm. [RHSE].
Iris ensata Thunb.
A rhizomatous iris with linear leaves to 1cm wide and 1-to 3 flowered clusters of white to dark purple flowers, the falls marked with yellow and the standards somewhat darker. [RHSD, BIS].
Iris fulva Ker-Gawl.
Fully-hardy rhizomatous, beardless Louisiana iris with slender, slightly zigzag stems bearing 4-6 copper- or orange-red flowers in late spring. To 80cm. [RHSE, Hortus].
Iris germanica L.
Fully-hardy, rhizomatous bearded iris with fans of sometimes evergreen, grey-green leaves and sparsely branched stems bearing blue-violet flowers with yellow beards, in early spring. To 1.2m, usually smaller. Many varieties of Iris germanica exist, a number are included in the Camden Park catalogues. [RHSE, Hortus].
Iris germanica L. subsp. pallida (Lam.) O.Bolòs & Vigo
Frost-hardy, rhizomatous, bearded iris with sometimes evergreen, grey-green leaves and branched stems with 2-6 large, scented, soft blue flowers, with yellow beards. To 1.2m. [RHSE, Hortus].
Iris germanica L. subsp. pallida (Lam.) O.Bolòs & Vigo var. pallida
See Iris germanica L. subsp. pallida (Lam.) O.Bolòs & Vigo for a description of the type. With white flowers, ‘I. swertii is probably an approximate albino form or a hybrid.’ [Dykes].
Iris germanica L. subsp. pallida (Lam.) O.Bolòs & Vigo var. plicata
See Iris germanica L. subsp. pallida (Lam.) O.Bolòs & Vigo for a discussion of the type species. Plicata is now regarded as merely an albino form of pallida with white standards and falls except for veins of colour on the edges of the segments. [RHSD, Hortus].
Iris germanica L. var. florentina (L.) Dykes
Fully-hardy, rhizomatous bearded iris with fans of sometimes evergreen, grey-green leaves and sparsely branched stems bearing strongly-scented white flowers, smaller than I. germanica, in early spring. To 1.2m. Paxton’s Dictionary describes a variety, minor, with grey flowers. [RHSE, Hortus].
