Roscoea

R. purpurea f. rubra (syn. 'Red Gurkha')
BBMS 43 AGM (H4) 2011
[trial entry: 88]
Entered by: RBG Kew
Foliage: Mid green (137B);
Leaf features: Sheaths greyed red (180A),
vertically ridged and wrinkled;
Peduncle: not emerging from leaf sheaths;
Flower colour: Red-orange (N35A), lip
paler orange (N34C);
Floral bract colour: Floral bracts red
edged green, calyx is shorter than the
bract.
A moisture and shade loving form,
Variants of R. purpurea f. rubra differ in
having red or green leaf sheaths and there
are also some plants which are
intermediate in this character. The name
'Red Gurkha' has been applied to redflowered
examples of R. purpurea
regardless of leaf sheath colour. The RHS
Advisory Committee on Nomenclature and
Taxonomy (ACONAT) concluded that
because of the variation encompassed by
the name it was best treated as a synonym
of “f. rubra”.
R. purpurea 'Dalai Lama'
AGM (H4) 2011
[trial entry: 79]
Entered by: Beeches Nursery
Foliage: Mid Green, yellower than N137A;
Leaf features: Sheaths deep Red 187A-B,
vertically ridged but not wrinkled, lightly
glossy and lightly pruinose above;
Peduncle: Stem and all but tips of floral
bracts contained in constricted upper leaf
sheath;
Flower colour: Lip Pale Violet, lighter and
brighter than N82D, deeper Purple Violet
N81A-B and white streaks in throat, hood
and lateral petals white flushed Violet N82,
stigma hood white;
Floral bract colour: Red 187A/B, green
tipped, sheathes barely visible, green
tipped.
A strong grower. Lovely foliage and red
stems, which make the plant attractive even
when it is out of flower, giving it good
garden value. Plenty of pale purple flowers
produced later in the season.
Roscoea Trial No. 1436 9