The first mention of 'Fortune's Double Yellow' in Europe comes under its earlier European and botanical name Rosa pseud-indica Lindley. It occurs on page 132 of John Lindley's "Monograph of Roses" 1820, (a page with two uncertain species, at the time, this rose and Rosa xanthina.) This of course is before Fortune "discovered" this rose "in the garden of a rich Mandarin at Ningpo", after 1840.

Lindley erected the Latinized botanical name Rosa pseud-indica based on seeing a painting of this rose in Lambert's library. I assume this was one of , or similar to, the Reeve's commissioned paintings of Chinese garden plants.

Later, Rehder transferred Lindley's name to be a variety of Rosa odorata, R. odorata var. pseudindica Rehd.

There is a good plate and notes on this rose, 'Wang-jang-ve', including additions by Fortune in the Botanical Magazine, Tab. 4679, Nov. 1, 1852. Fortune tells us he sent it home to the Horticultural Society in 1845, and that he mentions it in the Journal of the Society, vol 1 p. 218, and in his "Journey to the Tea Countries," p. 318.

Fred Boutin, 4/27/06, By Mel Hulse w/permission