This sweet pea variety is Cupani.
Available today, as it was in 1699 (if you had connections!).
The earliest mention of the sweet pea is found in '' Sillabus Plantarum Sicilke-nuper detectarum a P. F. Franciscus Cupani" (Panormi, 1695). The sweet pea is spoken of as "Lathyrus distoplatyphyllos hirsutis mollis, magno et peramoeno flore odore."
Here it is mentioned 1696 in Cupani's Hortus Catholicus. (a bit more than 1/2 way down) The web is a wonderful thing!
Father Cupani was very enthusiastic about this flower and in 1699 sent seed to Dr. Uvedale at Enfield, England, and to Caspar Commelin at Amsterdam, Holland.
Commelin described and illustrated the plant in his "Hort.-Medici Amstelodamensis" (1697-1701). He also adopted Cupani's name for the plant.
Dr. Uvedale showed the flowering sweet pea to Dr. Plukenet in 1701.
Dr. Plukenet's own herbarium specimen is the oldest sweet pea specimen known. By 1713 they were flowering in the Chelsea Botanic Garden. (This link is interesting.) Finally, by 1724, the seed was commercially available as Cupani's Original or Matucana.
The artist who did the botanical illustration for Commelin, Jan Moninckx, did the watercolor painting below in 1699. I am only assuming Commelin's book's engraved plate was taken from this. I can't track down a copy of it in the time I have available today. I might be all wrong.
You absolutely must go to this extraordinary site to explore this painting in great detail, and to enjoy a high quality botanical art collection mounted by the Collectie Botanie of the Netherlands.
Links:
- Renee's Garden - A very nice page of botanical illustrations many varieties of sweet peas!
- Select Seeds, Rare, Heirloom, Unusual -
- Pomona Belvedere's blog - tulipsinthewoods.com gardening with nature Cupani and Zinfandel - heat tolerant sweet peas
- Botanicus
- Collectie Botanie !!!!!
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