Sprenger was a busy botanist

It is well known that the Italian Group of Cannas were first introduced by Carl Sprenger of Dammann and Co., closely followed by Luther Burbank and then taken up in a big way by Antoine Wintzer, Vilmorin-Andrieux, Wilhelm Pfitzer and others. However, what is not so well known is the extent to which Sprenger introduced new varieties.

The book Das Geschlecht der Canna by Árpád Mühle, 1909, provides a list of all of his Italian Group cultivars.

1. C. 'Africa'

2. C. 'Alemania'

3. C. 'America'

4. C. 'Aphrodite'

5. C. 'Asia'

6. C. 'Atlanta'

7. C. 'Australia'

8. C. 'Austria'

9. C. 'Bavaria'

10. C. 'Borussia'

11. C. 'Brittania'

12. C. 'Burgundia'

13. C. 'Campania'

14. C. 'Ch. Naudin'

15. C. 'Edouard André'

16. C. 'Emilia'

17. C. 'Grand Sasso d'Italia'

18. C. 'H. Wendland'

19. C. 'Heinrich Seidel'

20. C. 'Hellas'

21. C. 'Iberia'

22. C. 'Italia'

23. C. 'Kronos'

24. C. 'La France'

25. C. 'Oceanus'

26. C. 'Pandora'

27. C. 'Partenope'

28. C. 'Penelope'

29. C. 'Perseus'

30. C. 'Phoebe'

31. C. 'Pluto'

32. C. 'Prof. Treub'

33. C. 'Rhea'

34. C. 'Roi Humbert'

35. C. 'Roi Leopold'

36. C. 'Roma'

37. C. 'Romagna'

38. C. 'Sicilia'

39. C. 'Suevia'

40. C. 'Trinacria'

41. C. 'Umbria'

42. C. 'Wilhelm Beck'

What is not so well know, is that, Sprenger also released many new Crozy Group cultivars prior to exciting the world with the release of C. 'Italia' and C. 'Austria' in 1893. Some of those are:

1. C. 'Aetna'
   
2. C. 'Ajax'
3. C. 'Alkmene'
4. C. 'Arethusa'
5. C. 'Capri'
6. C. 'Königin von Italien'
7. C. 'Kronprinz von Italien'
8. C. 'Madame Oscar Meuricoffre'
9. C. 'Nero'
10. C. 'Paestum'
11. C. 'Prinzessin Laetitia'
12. C. 'Professor Rossi'
13. C. 'Solfatara'
14. C. 'Stromboli'
15. C. 'Sultana'

This information was first published in 1909, and as Dammans' nursery was destroyed by the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 1906, then this is likely to be the most complete list of Sprengers' introductions that we are going to be able to collate.