A fleeting sort of rarity occurs when the plant or variety is very new, just discovered or introduced. Often such a plant is an improvement or unusual
variation on a well known theme:
- better fruit
- better foliage color
- increased hardiness
- variegated foliage
- differently colored flowers
- a pendulous habit rather than a normal upright form.
A rare plant may have the added attraction of a history of a pedigree, like a descendent of Bartram's Franklin tree (Franklinia Alatamaha) or of cuttings of other plants passes from grower to grower across the world.*
Reprinted from Green Scene, March 1983 |
