Page 261
inflorescence, with four to five (sometimes as few as three or as many as six) flowers. Peduncles 24 cm long, sturdy. Pedicels 2.54.5 cm long. Flower in bud pink (RHS 65-D), becoming white with a slight pinkish shade when completely opened. Flower 4.55.0 cm in diameter, spreading to an open plane, not fragrant. Petals fourteen to fifteen, orbicular, also orbicular at the top(!), 1921 × 1520 mm. Pistil one, with a small ovary, plus one to fourteen supplementary pistils that stand in between the stamens(!); these extra pistils are 910 mm long, longer than the stamens. The calyx is broad funnel-shaped, 5 × 5 mm, with a smooth transition from pedicel to calyx, dark purple-red (RHS 59-B). Sepals are elongated, slightly narrower at the base, 89 × 45 mm, unserrated, also dark purple-red (RHS 59-B). Flowering season is from late April to early May.
Figure 121 'Horinji', bundle of pistils in the heart of a flower. Photo by Arie Peterse, 17 May 1986, Wageningen Botanic Gardens of the Agricultural University, Netherlands.