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Roscoea purpurea 'Brown Peacock' is a striking plant, the brown colour of the stems and leaves set it apart from other Roscoeas. The colour is deepest in the early part of the year, by
the time the plant flowers in august there is green colour appearing in the leaves. The plant is very tall growing, to 50 or 60 cm. Richard Wilford wrote about it after the RHS Roscoea trial: "A distinctive cultivar, this has leaves that are red-brown on their undersides. It was healthy and bulked up well in the trial but the pale violet flowers did not make a good combination with the boldly coloured foliage." Gary Dunlop wrote in 2008: "Several distinct cultivars were named by a Dutch grower, who was supplied with tubers by collectors in India. They were released commercially by Dr Paul Christian some years ago. The moist distinctive is R. purpurea 'Brown Peacock' with dark brown-tinted foliage, though as it matures the brown fades noticeably. Needless to say it is the slowest of all to increase vegetatively in the open garden. It probably requires warmer conditions to bulk up." Paul Christian says in his Rare Plants catalogue: "This is a low growing form with the stems streaked and striped red-brown on the edges and deep purple-brown underneath, below a pale violet-rose flower 5.5 cm long by 3.5 wide, in which the tube and hood are darker rose. After growth is completed in the autumn, the entire plant turns rich pink-purple before dormancy." |
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