N. 'Fabiola'/'Mrs. Richmond'/'Pink Beauty'/'Luciana'/'Odorata Luciana'

Some confusion surrounds these waterlilies' true identities. The real 'Fabiola' (Latour-Marliac, Revue Horticole 1908) was sold in the UK for many years under the name 'Mrs. Richmond' (a legitimate name and lily on its own, Latour-Marliac, Latour-Marliac Catalogue 1910). Here is how that happened.

From Colin Eliis, Chef de Culture at Latour-Marliac:

"Both 'Mrs. Richmond' and 'Fabiola' exist independently, and were introduced in 1910 and 1913 respectively. At Latour-Marliac we grow both 'Mrs Richmond' and 'Fabiola'. There is a story to tell regarding these two plants.

"The story goes that Perry's of Enfield (UK) ran out of stock of 'Mrs. Richmond' and substituted it with 'Fabiola'. They did not, however, inform their clients of this substitution and continued to label it 'Mrs. Richmond', so many of their customers actually received 'Fabiola' when ordering 'Mrs. Richmond'. Subsequently, other nurseries, probably by mistake, sold on the plants as 'Mrs. Richmond'. These details were confirmed by Ray Davies while researching and compiling his monograph on Hardy Nymphaea."

The original description from the 1910 Latour-Marliac Catalogue reads as follows:

"Mrs. Richmond. Fleur énorme, odorante, 20 centimètres de diameter, rose tendre violacé, plus foncé vers le centre; étamines jaunes."

'Odorata Luciana' (Dreer, c.1899), under its synonyms 'Pink Beauty' and 'Luciana', has been sold in the US for many years as 'Fabiola'. Below are images of 'Fabiola', and 'Odorata Luciana'. 'Mrs. Richmond, though similar to 'Fabiola', is not identical.

N. 'Fabiola' Photo courtesy of Hazorea Aquatics Click for Gallery

N. 'Odorata Luciana' Sheila Tierney Photo Click for Gallery