John Henry the Tulip, plus Doc Watson

1870 -The Florist and Pomologist: A Pictorial Monthly Magazine of Flowers, Fruits, and General Horticulture

Did you notice the word bybloemen above?  Here is what it means -"Bybloemen, then, is also the name of a flower. Specifically, bybloemen are a variety of old English tulips that are “mauve to dark purple/black on a white base and generally appear elegant and restrained”. Whereas the color is often “broken” into feathered patterns,...the base cultivar is a solid, sensuously dark and rich violet." https://bybloemen.wordpress.com/

Wondering who the John Henry was that lent his name to this tulip I looked around and found this reference.  If John Hepworth had read tulip history this might be the answer.

An American folk song is how I knew John Henry before this!  That's why the tulip's name caught my attention :-)  The great Doc Watson sings this version...