Rhododendron onsloweanum
Rhododendron
Planted in 1917
Source: Barbier Nursery, France
This rhodo has been the object of considerable debate among experts as to its true identity. In the government journal of plant records, it is listed as being received as R. onslovianum. Yet some rhodo specialists have questioned whether it is correctly named, given its appearance does not match the colour description in the International Rhododendron Register and Checklist (IRRC). Efforts to positively identify the specimen have involved Canadian, American and French, German and Italian rhododendron experts. Articles have been published in Canadian, American and French rhododendron journals.
The flowers on our rhodo are vibrant pink. The IRRC describes the flowers as having a delicate, waxy blush, changing to white with a yellow eye. Yet our rhodo matches the description of a plant identified as R. onsloweanum in the Burcina Park in Italy, pink with dorsal punctuation. Filaments white with light purple anthers, white and pale yellow at the base, stigma dark red. Both our rhodo and the rhodo in Italy were ordered from France in a similar time period. Could there have been a labelling error at the French nursery in both cases? It is an international mystery that may never be solved