Laura Walker Var.
An 1845 Italian cultivar from the famous Isola Madre garden, described by Verschaffelt as producing 'two blossoms emerging one from the other.'
First listed without description in the Isola Madre Catalogue (1845) — one of the great Italian botanical garden collections on Lake Maggiore. Described as a seedling of B. Lechi, Italy, in Van Houtte's catalogue (1846–1847). Verschaffelt's Nouvelle Iconographie (1851) provides the vivid description: 'Two blossoms, distinctly full, emerging one from the other and forming an open, full-bodied floral effect, of a bright poppy-cherry colour, sometimes striated with white.' In America the name has been confused with a local variety. Listed locally as 'Laura Walker Var.' and registered as 'Enrico Bettoni.' Source: International Camellia Register.