Roses; Or, A Monograph of the Genus Rosa - Volume 2 (1828) Henry Charles Andrews Our drawing was made from plants in the Nursery of Mr. Knight, who first raised them in the year 1816 by importations received from a Bengal vessel, and called them Rosa Bengalensis rubra et alba. They are, however, only seminal varieties from the common China Rose. Their period of inflorescence is mostly during the summer and autumnal months; and when occasionally flowering under the influence of a cold atmosphere, the pale variety acquires such an accession of colour, that it appears a very different Rose from what it is when the sun's rays so far extract its colour, that it requires to be looked at in the shade to ascertain whether it is a white or a pale blush colour.
"The Botanist's Manual: A Catalogue of Hardy, Exotic and Indigenous Plants", by Richard Morris, 1824, p.4-41: Rosa Bengalensis alba, light China, China, 3 ft, whitish Bengalensis Rubra, red China, China, 3 ft., red indica, pale China, [China], 2 ft, pink
Is the first possibly "White China"? Redouté's 'Rosa indica subalba'?
Jedmar, Yes, I think the "subalba" is one of Cartier's seedlings. It is probably the one mentioned by Ventenat as growing in Cels' garden.
2. Le citoyen Cels cultive deux varietes de la Rosa diversifolia; l'une dont les fleurs sont presque doubles, et l'autre dont *les petales sont blanchatres.*
Karl
ps. I misread your note. 'Bengalensis alba' was Knight's seedling, not Cartier's. It and 'Bengalensis rubra' were also mentioned together by R. Morris (1824), Sarah Mackie (1825) and W. Masters (1831),
