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Rosa xanthina forma hugonis
[Synonyms : Rosa ecae, Rosa hugonis, Rosa xanthina, Rosa xanthina var. ecae]
FATHER HUGO ROSE is a deciduous shrub. Native to central China. it has green leaflets
that turn red in Autumn; fragrant, bright yellow flowers, and dark red hips.
It is also known as Chinesische Goldrose (German), Father Hugo’s rose, Golden rose of China,
Huang qiang wei (Chinese), Kinesisk gulgros (Swedish), Ruža (Slovak), and Růže
hugova (Czech).
Xanthina s derived from Greek xantho- meaning ‘deep yellow or golden yellow’. Hugonis
honours an Irish Franciscan missionary, Father Hugo (1851-1928). Originally christened
John Aloysius Scallan, he received the name Hugh when he became a Franciscan priest
in 1882. Father Hugo worked as a missionary in central China from 1886 and he also
collected seeds and plant specimens there (including this rose) which he sent to Kew in
England. In 1898 peasants in northern China formed a secret society known as Yihequan
(meaning ‘righteous and harmonious fists). It aimed to bring down the Manchu (or Qing
or Ch’ing – 1644-1911/12) dynasty and to banish foreigners which the society believed
undermined the Chinese culture – although ultimately the latter would prove to be the
prime and only target. 1899 saw this society (which promoted boxing and other practices
that its members were convinced would protect them from bullets) encouraging groups to
massacre Christian missionaries and their congregations. By 1900 the Boxer Rebellion
had spread to the Chinese capital Beijing (then Peking) where matters escalated further.
The Empress Dowager herself ordered all foreigners to be killed and an international
force arrived on the scene to protect their own foreign interests. During this violent
Rebellion Father Hugo was severely beaten and left for dead as were so many of his
peers. Eventually recovering however he resumed his missionary work and plant
collecting until he died in 1928.
Father Hugo is said to have arranged for seeds of this rose to be sent to Kew botanical garden
just outside London in either 1899 or 1902. Plants were sent to the Arnold Arboretum in
the United States in 1908.
©Sue Eland 2008
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