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Roscoea cautleyoides 'Jeffrey Thomas'

This form is now quite widely distributed, but my stock seems to be a rather poor thing.It is described as having a broad labellum that fades to creamy white. My plant is rather narrow in the general outline of the flower. The lateral petals hang down and curl slightly behind the lobes of the labellum, and so make no contribution to the display. It starts pale and remains pale. I am assuming that it has been raised from seed somewhere down the line and the seedlings have not been very effectively screened for trueness to type. I am currently collecting together plants from a range of sources to see what sort of variation there is. As the photo shows, it is barely distinct from the general Roscoea cautleyoides being distributed.

Richard Wilford writes:

"This floriferous and strong growing cultivar has distinctive flowers with a labellum paler yellow than the rest of the flower. It is one of the earliest to flower, beginning in mid May and continuing until mid July.
The leaves are mid green (N137A) and the leaves, sheaths and peduncle is glaucescent. The labellum is pale yellow (4A), veined slightly darker yellow, the dorsal and lateral petals yellow (4B) and the throat of the flower a darker yellow (5C). The floral bracts are green, flushed red (187C) in the upper half."

Gary Dunlop says it is:

"well within the range of the species and not especially distinct..."






Jill Cowley says:

"The plant illustrated in the Botanical Magazine (t.9084) in 1926 was a Forrest collection (2070) of the yellow form of this species. That same year, a plant described as a pale sulphur-yellow form, Roscoea cautleyoides 'Beesii' was submitted by Bulley to the Royal Horticultural Society, and received an Award of Merit (Journal of the Royal Horticultural Society 52:lvi). The description suggests that it could be the same form that is now called 'Jeffrey Thomas'."

The citation for the RHS Award of Merit reads:

"To Roscoea Cautleoides Beesii (votes 8 for, 3 against), from Mr. A. K. Bulley, Chester. A pale, sulphur-yellow form of R. Cautleoides, which is a native of Western China, and a useful plant for the rock garden."

Writing in 'The Plantsman' , Christoper Whitehouse and Jill Cowley say of Roscoea Cautleoides Beesii:

"It was probably similar to the more recent cultivar R. cautleyoides 'Jeffrey Thomas' from Rene Zijerveld of Dix and Zijerveld, the Netherlands."







References:
  • Flora of China Online, http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=2&taxon_id=200028432 , accessed 19.11.2024.
  • Cowley, Jill - The Genus Roscoea, Royal Botanic Gardens Kew 2007.
  • Dunlop, Gary - 'The Genus Roscoea', Bulletin of the Alpine Garden Society, Vol.76, Part.2 (2008).
  • Whitehouse, Christopher and Jill Cowley - 'Roscoea x beesiana and its variants', The Plantsman, Vol.8, Part.2 (2009).
  • Wilford, Richard - 'Roscoeas for the rock garden', Bulletin of the Alpine Garden Society, Vol.67, Part.1 (1999).
  • Wilford, Richard - 'Roscoea on trial', The Plantsman, Vol.11, Part.2 (2012).
  • Journal of the Royal Horticultural Society, Vol.52, Proceedings, p.lvi (1927).