Lena, Eva Boerg, Madame Eva Boye, Hapsburgh, Elsa, …
A recent posting on Facebook asked for the identification of a cultivar, with a response suggesting that it was Lena, or possibly Eva Boerg. I put in my penny’s worth but then realised that I wasn’t sure if I was right. My curiosity peaked, I have done some more detailed research.
Lena
Lena is extremely well known. Hardy, semi-double[ish], with flesh pink tube and sepals and a pink-purple corolla, somewhat lax in growth and with a tendency for the flowers to touch the ground. Catalogues and checklists state that it was raised by Bunney in 1862. Really?
Firstly, Bunney only introduced one other cultivar, Globosa – commonly regarded as the first fuchsia hybrid – in 1832. Then Lena a full 30 years later? I can find no supporting contemporary evidence to support Lena being introduced at this time. Indeed, the first confirmed reference to Lena is in William Bull’s catalogue of 1904, over forty years later. This entry suggests that it was a recent but not a new introduction of that year. Bull’s 1901 catalogue makes no mention of Lena, suggesting that it was a 1902 or 1903 introduction. Unfortunately catalogues for these dates are not available. Bull was famous for giving his new introductions one-word boy or girl names, so Lena fits the bill perfectly.
The next reference is in Forbes’ catalogue of 1920 [no description, but with a reference to it being an ‘older’ cultivar], followed by Essig in 1933, quoting HA Brown’s catalogue of 1932, then WP Wood’s “Fuchsia Survey” of 1950, all without attribution to either date or raiser. The first reference to ‘Bunney 1862’ is in Tom Thorne’s “Fuchsias for all Purposes” of 1959, over fifty years after its first known listing and nearly 100 years after its supposed introduction. This raiser and date are then repeated by others, notably Leo Boullemier in his Checklists, with TT’s description repeated.
I am extremely dubious of the validity of many of Tom Thorne’s provenance claims. It appears that a first speculative claim as to date and raiser has now become fact, without any evidence to support it.
Eva Boeg
This comes in various flavours:
Mdlle Eva Boeg – Madame Eva Boeg – Madame Eva Boerg – Madame Eva Boye – Eva Boeg – Eva Boerg – Eva Boye
Mdlle Eva Boeg is first referenced in Clibran’s catalogue of 1907, followed by Viaud-Bruant’s catalogue of 1914, then Berkeley’s Nursery in 1931. All describe it as Single /Semi-Double with T&S Rosy Carmine and Corolla Red. No raiser or date is mentioned. Essig then confuses by stating that it is identical with ‘Display! Clibran’s acquisition numbering suggests it was introduced in about 1902. Whatever it is it certainly hasn’t the same colour description as Lena.
Madame Eva Boye [Lemoine 1908] first appears in Tom Thorne [1959] and is described as Single, T&S Flesh Pink and Corolla Wine Purple’ Leo Boullemier then repeats the description. However, I can find no evidence to support the raiser/date. It does not appear in any of Lemoine’s catalogues [!], so very suspect.
Eva Boerg [Yorke 1943] is first described by TT [1959] as Single, T&S Blush White, Corolla Violet Purple-streaked Rose. Leo Boullemier repeats the description. Feels like Lena. Again, I can find no contemporary source that validates the date/raiser. York [no ‘e’] is from Oregon and did raise a number of cultivars during this period, but nothing that relates to Eva Boerg, yet TT describes it as British! Eva Boye seems to be a more recent corruption of the name.
Elsa is listed as a new introduction by William Bull in 1901. It is described as Single, T&S White and Pale Pink, Corolla Rosy Purple. It is also listed in Lemoine’s catalogue of the same year. TT [1959] concurs but describes it as a Semi-Double. Leo Boullemier follows much the same description. Berkeley Nursery [1935], Palo Alto nursery [1949] and Antonelli Bros [1953] list it with the same description, but as a double!
Hapsburgh first appears in Tom Thorne’s book [1959] [Where else!] and attributed to Rozain-Boucharlat [1911]. Description is Single, T&S White flushed Pink. Corolla Rosy Purple. Description is very similar to Elsa, Eva Boerg, and Madame Eva Boye!
Hapsburgh is an alternate spelling of Habsburgh, the German dynasty, so a reasonable assumption is that it was raised somewhere in continental Europe. However, despite TT’s claims that it was by Rozain-Boucharlat there is no evidence to support it. It is not listed in any of their catalogues. I can find no evidence of its existence.
Conclusions
Lena exists. I believe it was raised by Bull in 1902/03. It definitely is not by Bunney 1862. Whether what we grow today is the original Lena is uncertain but ultimately irrelevant.
Mdlle Eva Boeg also exists. It was probably introduced in about 1901, raiser unknown. It was definitely not introduced by Lemoine in 1908. It is a different description and colour to Lena and has no obvious visual similarities. It is extremely doubtful that it is still in existence.
Elsa also exists. It was introduced by Bull in 1902/03. It appears to have the same colours as Lena, so could be a source of confusion. It may still be grown in California.
Hapsburgh is very suspect. It was not raised by Rozain-Boucharlat, and its description is very similar to others. I can trace no catalogue selling it. It is almost certainly a renaming, probably of Elsa.
Eva Boeg/Boye may exist, but it was not raised by Yorke [1943]. At best it is another Lena look-a-like. Madame Eva Boye is probable a spelling corruption, confusion being with Madame Eva Boeg.
Thoughts
I do not trust Tom Thorne with his attributions. Throughout his book ‘Fuchsias for all Purposes’ he makes claims as to raiser/dates of cultivars without any source of validation. Modern access to original catalogues show a number of his claims are false. His checklist was comprehensive but littered with errors. Whilst much of what he described may be true, the scale of errors places doubt on what might otherwise be correct.
Article written by John Palmer
British Fuchsia Society’s Archivist and Historian
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