There are two plants labelled Camellia japonica ‘Martha Brice’ in the Mt Edgcumbe collection, one in Australian Section 4C, the other in American Section 1E. They are quite different so at least one must be labelled incorrectly. I have concluded that it is the one in Area 4C that is correct, in spite of ‘Martha Brice’ being an American variety. I believe the plant in Area 1E to be another American variety, ‘Marie Bracey’.
Camellia japonica ‘Martha Brice’ (4C-003)
There are two plants labelled ‘Marie Bracey’ in Area 1H but they do not remotely match the description in the Register or either of the two “Martha Brice’s” and are presumably something else. They need not concern us here.
In 1987 Les Woodward wrote an article about the Mt Edgcumbe collection for the ICS Journal, listing all the varieties in the collection at that time. The list is not alphabetical, rather it looks like it was compiled from maps in the order they appeared on the page. It is therefore possible to work out which sections are being referred to, even though that information is not stated. In Section 1E ‘Marie Bracey’ is in the list.
In the collection records American folder, under Area 1E, is a piece of paper listing 12 varieties that are not on the pink list*. ‘Maria Bracey’ is one of the 12. Another note for Area 1E has 3 varieties “in tray” whatever that means. ‘Marie Bracey’ is one of them.
‘Marie Bracey’ was clearly in Area 1E at some point. In none of these lists is ‘Martha Brice’ ever mentioned, yet it appears on the map, whereas ‘Marie Bracey’ does not.
Camellia japonica ‘Marie Bracey’ (1E-026) still labelled ‘Martha Brice’
The 1E plant labelled ‘Martha Brice’ fits the description of ‘Marie Bracey’ and matches the only picture I have seen of it. I believe someone has put the wrong name on the map and subsequently produced a label for the plant.
In the Camellia Register, ‘Martha Brice’ is described as semi-double, loose peony type, delicate soft pink. ‘Marie Bracey’ is described as coral-rose with 24-30 petals and 6-12 petaloids. These descriptions fit ‘Martha Brice’ 4C-003 and “Martha Brice”/’Marie Bracey’ 1E-026 reasonably well.
Clue to mistaken identity.
There is however, an intriguing twist in the story.
‘Martha Brice’ was raised by Mrs E.M. Brice, Quitman, Georgia, and first flower in 1938
‘Marie Bracey’ was raised by Mrs H. Turner Brice, Valdosta, Georgia, and first bloomed in 1951.
Quitman to Valdosta is 17.5 miles on US-221.
(*) The pink list was a list of the collection compiled in 1990 as a handout for visitors.
Jim's Camellias 
Interesting plant detective work. As the correct one is in the wrong section and there are two others involved in the mystery, the truth could take some untangling. You’ve reminded me of a friend visiting a flower show in Russia who was surprised to see red roses for sale labelled ‘Golden Celebration’ which, need I say, ought to have been yellow.
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You start off thinking identifying plants is about comparing them with descriptions, pictures and reference collections. When that fails it gets more complicated, and interesting. What was available at the time, the paper trails, the people involved and so on. Even if you are able to compare a specimen with the original plant there may be differences from the growing conditions, so you are never 100% sure. How important is that uncertainty, we’re only talking about cultivated plants after all and varieties are going extinct and new ones being introduced all the time. Striking the right balance between complacency and obsessiveness can be quite tricky.
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Good points. With experience of growing a plant, you can often recognise a flower as surely as you would recognise a person, but rarer, older varieties have less and less people with that kind of intimate knowledge of them.
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And that reminds me of the lovely yellow Rhododendron Horizon Monarch at the Floriade 2012 in the Netherlands…..labelled Rhododendron ponticum!
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