A large
(23 inches high) hosta
that has green leaves that are yellow in the center early in the
season. Pale lavender flowers with darker
streaks are borne on scapes up to 36 inches tall. It changes to an
all green leaf as the season progresses into summer.
Until
Schmid (1991) changed the status of this plant from a
species to a cultivar, it had been known as Hosta fortunei 'Albo-picta'.
It had been registered under that name in 1987 by
The American Hosta Society.
According to
The Hostapedia by
Mark Zilis
(2009), this cultivar "...possibly the same as Funkia
aurea maculata, which was introduced by
Philip Franz von Sieblod's nursery in 1874...It has been far
surpassed by hundreds, if not thousands, of newer hosta
cultivars in some respects; however, it still makes a great
general purpose landscaping plant and has value as a breeding
plant."
This cultivar has been awarded
the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit in the
UK.
The species (now cultivar) was named for plant explorer
Robert Fortune.
