Sinningia speciosa ‘Exquisita’
A cultivar of Sinningia speciosa (Lodd.) Hiern. A Gloxinia named ‘Exquisita’ was bred and sold by James Backhouse and Son, York Nurseries. In an advertisement in The Gardeners' Chronicle it was described as ‘pure white, with rose streak and vivid carmine blotch, larger than G. albo sanguinea. Very beautiful.’ [Gard. Chron 1849]. This plant was also reviewed in the Floricultural Cabinet [FC p.230/1849].
Horticultural & Botanical History
Bass and Brown of Sudbury, advertising in The Gardeners' Chronicle in 1854 and 1855, described Henderson’s ‘Exquisite’ as pure white with a broad belt of puce and creamy white throat, spotted with puce. [Gard. Chron. (1854, 1855)]. Flore des Serres figures a number of Gloxinia varieties, all of the slipper form, one of which is probably very similar to exquisita. [FS pl. VI, p.268/1847].
History at Camden Park
We cannot be certain which of these plants was imported by Macarthur, although it was probably Backhouse’s. James Backhouse was a friend of William and had visited Camden. William regularly purchased plants from him. First recorded in a handwritten entry in a copy of the 1850 catalogue held at Camden Park [CPA] and listed in the 1857 catalogue [B.186/1857].
Notes
Published Sep 04, 2009 - 05:24 PM | Last updated Aug 21, 2011 - 03:03 PM
Sinningia speciosa varieties | FS pl.VI, p.268/1847 | CSIRO Black Mountain Library, Canberra. 'Exquisita' may well be similar to one of these.
| Family | Gesneriaceae |
|---|---|
| Category | |
| Region of origin | Garden origin, England |
| Synonyms |
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| Common Name | Gloxinia, Slipper gloxinia |
| Name in the Camden Park Record |
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| Confidence level | medium |