I haven't seen this mentioned anywhere, so I thought I might, before the comment is "lost" to time and attrition ...
We got our WPIRDM as a cutting from the Sacramento City Cemetery collection, handed to us long ago by the late Barbara Oliva, then Curator of Roses. When she gave it to us, Barbara told us that she was working in the garden one day when a busload of Chinese Tourists arrived to tour. One of the ladies was excited to recognize the rose as one she knew, and told Barbara its' legend.
The name, she said, 'Chi Long Han Zhu' -- White Pearl in Red Dragon's Mouth -- came from a legend of a red dragon who dwelt within the Imperial Palace. At night, the dragon flies out over the Land of China, seeking Virtue.
When he finds it, he takes it back to the Emperor, in the form of a glowing Pearl, held gently in the Dragon's flaming mouth.
And so it has its name. If you look into a freshly-opened bloom, you will see the red of the dragon's in-curving mouth, the flaming yellow stamens, and the white pearl of an "eye" at the center.
This is an interesting question, translated to English: The resemblances with the variety 'Saint-Priest de Breuze' (Desprez - 1838) are astonishing! Is it the same variety? The same question was posed also by Donald in this posted photo. What are the provenances of these two roses? Is the Desprez-Rose an "identification" from the last 50 years? Is the Rose in China a European rose which has come back under a Chinese name (there are several such cases)?
So I am now familiar with the blush tinted center petals of 'Louis Phillipe'. But how do I tell 'White Pearl in Red Dragon's Mouth' from 'Cramoisi Superieur'? Are there any references available for 'White Pearl in Red Dragon's Mouth'?
