Duchess of Southerland
A Magnolia Gardens white with 15 cm blooms — one of the largest-flowered japonicas from antebellum Charleston, mother of five known sports.
Originated at Magnolia Gardens on St. John's Island, Charleston, South Carolina — one of America's oldest and most important camellia collections. The semi-double white flowers reach an impressive 15 cm, occasionally showing a white stripe on one petal. The cultivar has proven remarkably sport-prone, producing five documented mutations: 'Duchess of Sutherland Pink,' 'Duchess of Covington,' 'Ruth Royer,' 'Claudia Phelps,' and 'Patricia Burks.' Illustrated in Gerbing's 1945 Camellias and Sharp's 1957 Camellias Illustrated. Listed locally as 'Duchess of Southerland.' Source: International Camellia Register.