(Zingiberaceae)
Roscoea purpurea 'Vannin' HWJK2406 

Description

Originating from a single plant collection made from under steep light woodland in the Mewa Khola, North-eastern Nepal in 2002. Where their fleshy roots formed an enveloping dense carpet, with sturdy dark-red upright stems to 1m tall. With stem-sheathing narrow foliage and congested terminal clusters of elongated seed capsules, which had succeeded the distinctly broad-lipped orchid-like successive white flowers with purple stripped labellum August-October. Easily grown in sun or shade in a humus-rich soil that is drained. Named for our grandson born in July 2007.

Roscoea purpurea ‘Vannin’ HWJK2406

A superb selection of a superb species, which originates from a single plant I selected from the wild, growing just outside the village of Badung in the Mewa Kola eastern Nepal. Where we were ‘entertained’ by Maoist gorillas for a short while until we ‘paid for safe passage’. A tall selection to 1 meter growing in our open field, with dark reddish brown upright sturdy stems, complimented by large to very large (for the species) palest lilac streaked darker flowers late July to November. Named for our grandson Vannin Hunter Wynn-Gawne, who was born in July 2007. The name also relates to the keeper or the man in the Isle of Man.