Comtesse de Boigne

Berlèse, 1842, Annales Société d’Horiculture de Paris, 30(175):427, 428. Large, irregular double, white, with raised centre, 10-12 cm across. The outer petals are in 5-6 rows, oval and notched, spread horizontally and imbricated. The petals bordering the centre are of similar form, but in order to be on the same plane, they are moulded to the larger petals, which gives the flower an unusual formation. The centre consists of a number of small, incom­plete, twisted petaloids and sterile stamens, packed in a cluster. Obtained from seed by M. Drouard-Gouillon, Nantes, France, about 1840. Berlèse, 1845, Monographie ed.3, p.99: White semi-double to informal double with the centre filled with a mixture of small petals, petaloids and stamens. Orthographic variant: ‘Contessa de Boigne’.