Schizanthus pinnatus Ruiz & Pav.

Horticultural & Botanical History

‘[Schizanthus pinnatus] flowered for the first time in this country, in the collection of Dowager Lady Tankerville, at Walton upon Thames.’  [BR f.725/1823].  A plant flowered in Britain by John Walker in 1822 is figured in Curtis’s Botanical Magazine and had pink flowers.  This may well be Lady Tankerville’s plant.  [BM t.2404/1823].  A more robust plant with purple flowers was also figured in this journal.  [BM t.2521/1824].  Paxton’s Dictionary describes the variety humilis with crimson flowers, introduced in 1831 and figured in the Botanical Register [BR f.1562/1833], the Floricultural Cabinet [FC p.25/1833] and in Paxton’s Magazine of Botany, although in the latter the flowers are depicted as mauve and red.  ‘This very pretty variety was introduced by Mr. Hugh Cuming, in 1831, who collected seeds of it in Chili. […] It is a hardy annual, of the most easy culture, flourishing in any kind of light soil, and ripening seeds freely.’  [MB p.198/1835].  ‘Schizanthus violaceus of the French gardens appears to be a violet-flowered form of S. pinnatus obtained from Vilmarin in 1853.’  [Gard. Chron. 1853].  

History at Camden Park

Listed in all published catalogues [H.211/1843].

Notes