Magazine  (2021)  Page(s) 32. Vol 43, No. 4.  
 
Lynne Chapman and Billy West.  A Close Look at Tea Roses
Impostors incorrectly called Tea roses. A vigorous climber masquerading as a Tea rose is “Sombreuil”. That this is not a Tea has been known for many years but how long does it take to get a message across? When the Australian rosarian David Ruston conducted a plebiscite in 2009 to find the world’s top ten Tea roses, what came in at No. 6? This rose; superb but not a Tea! The original Tea, Sombreuil, or Mlle de Sombreuil, 1851, is a shrub that can make a fine pillar rose but it is not a climber.

Newsletter  (Sep 2019)  Page(s) 10-11.  Includes photo(s).
 
[From "Roses from the Dawn of the Global Age", by Darrell g.h. Schramm, pp. 10-18]
Of the half-dozen surviving roses of that year, the Tea ‘Mlle de Sombreuil’ will claim our attention. This rose can be described as white, tinged with pale pink or light blush, blooming in small clusters on strong stems, and floriferous. Supposedly it was a bush form of the rose, but by 1898 Lord Broughan and Vaux, who grew it on the Riviera, wrote that it was “very effective growing up a tree.” Was this the same rose, or was it a sport of the original—or another similar rose entirely? An 1857 colored plate of ‘Mlle de Sombreuil’ flowers, contemporary with its introduction, shows the roses as loosely globular, like a Tea. And a French dictionary of roses in 1885 describes its “quantity of petals limited” and thus “almost full.” However, in 1924 rose breeder Captain George Thomas described the shape as “somewhat flat.” Two rosarians on HelpMeFind.com claim the large-flowered climber had been introduced into the U.S. in 1880. If they are correct, that may have been the rose Lord Brougham and Capt. Thomas referred to. Flat and climbing pertain to the ‘Sombreuil’ I grow. The quilled petals form a thick cushion quite refined and elegant. As a foundling, this rose was re-introduced in the 1940s to the U.S. and in the 1950s to England. The shrub form still grows in France, and as ‘La Biche’ was grown at the Huntington, near Pasadena. To distinguish the two, the shrub retains the name ‘Mlle de Sombreuil’ and the climber simply ‘Sombreuil’. Mutation, however, does not explain the many differences between the two forms of the rose

Magazine  (2007)  Page(s) 51.  
 
CORRECTIONS/ADDITONS/DELTIONS. 'Sombreuil', Cl. T, w, 1850; Published in Modern Roses XI page 549. Correct horticultural classification; correct year is 'about 1880'

Article (magazine)  (2007)  Page(s) 404.  
 
Table 1. Comparison of key volatile components in representative cultivated Chinese roses and species. [adsorption volume by Solid Phase Microextraction (peak area, x10')]
DMMB: 1,3-dimethoxy-5-methylbenzene

'Sombreuil'
Beta-phenylethyl alcohol 8.72
Dihydro-beta-ionone 1.55
Dihydro-beta-ionol 1.71
Beta-ionone 9.90
DMMB 4.37

Magazine  (Nov 2006)  
 
The ARS Classification Committee... concluded that the rose sold in the United States and elsewhere as 'Sombreuil' is not the same as the cultivar named 'Mlle de Sombreuil' originally introduced as a Tea rose by M. Robert in 1850. The cultivar currently grown and purchased in the United States under the name 'Sombreuil' is, in fact, a Large-Flowered Climber introduced into the United States, circa 1880, that does not have the typical Tea fragrance, shrub growth form, and the winter tenderness of the 1850 cultivar.

To correct this confusion, the Classification Committee has ruled that the name 'Mlle de Sombreuil' ...will be retained as the AEN for the 1850 shrub-form Tea, and that the name 'Sombreuil' be used as the AEN for the LCl....

Book  (2000)  Page(s) 197.  Includes photo(s).
 
Sombreuil  Raised by Robert. Parentage 'Gigantesque' seedling.  Introduced 1850. Type Climbing Tea Rose. Size At least 4m.  Often when customers ask for an old climbing rose it takes a little time to establish exactly what they are looking for, and after this has been done, more often than not this is the rose chosen – especially if it happens to be in flower at the time. It has a very good Tea scent and the open flower is large (10–12 cm) and literally packed with petals that appear to be quilled at first and then become muddled.  It opens very flat and is creamy-white. There always seems to be a flower on the plant, which has long branches, good foliage and large thorns. It is an excellent variety for every reason.

Website/Catalog  (22 Dec 1998)  Page(s) 39.  Includes photo(s).
 
Sombreuil Antique Climbing Tea. Robert 1850. Description... creamy white, extremely double blooms of 100 petals... Commemorates Mademoiselle de Sombreuil, a heroine of the French Revolution. The rose sold in the USA under this name may not be the same rose sold in Europe, nevertheless it is a magnificent specimen in the garden...

Website/Catalog  (Jun 1998)  Page(s) 60.  Includes photo(s).

Book  (1997)  Page(s) 389.  Includes photo(s).
 
'Sombreuil' Climbing Robert (France) 1850. Description... Flowers: double, flattish, white, fragrant... A beautiful rose...

Book  (1997)  Page(s) 27.  Includes photo(s).
 
Sombreuil The hardiest of the climbing tea roses... abundant, scented, creamy blooms.