Page "Robert Fortune" Paragraph 9

In subsequent journeys he visited Formosa ( modern day Taiwan ) and Japan, and described the culture of the silkworm and the manufacture of rice.

He introduced many trees, shrubs and flowers to the West, including the cumquat, a climbing double yellow rose (' Fortune's Double Yellow ' ( syn.

Gold of Ophir ) which proved a failure in England's climate ) and many varieties of tree peonies, azaleas and chrysanthemums.

A climbing white rose that he brought back from China in 1850, believed to be a natural cross between Rosa laevigata and R. banksiae, was dubbed R. fortuniana ( syn.

R. fortuneana ) in his honor.

This rose, too, proved a failure in England, preferring warmer climates.

Today both of these roses are still widely grown by antique rose fanciers in mild winter regions.

R. fortuniana also serves as a valuable rootstock in Australia and the southern regions of the United States.