Canna 'Florence Vaughan' has been misnamed and misidentified as other cannas for many, many years.
It originated in 1891, Introduced by A. Crozy, Lyon, France, in 1891.
Where the misnaming began is lost to history.

From an early US gardening journal, Garden and Forest, it was described:
"This is the best yellow spotted Canna introduced up to this time; color, lemon yellow spotted with bright red. The size and form of the flower is by far the best that has been raised to date; it has been claimed for this variety that it was the best yellow in cultivation, but the scarlet markings on the petals detract from the brightness of the yellow. It is a strong, robust grower, with flowers of the largest size with large heads, blooms freely, and for florists' sale will be very, very satisfactory. Bronze Medal awarded for this at World's Fair, Chicago, 1893."

Of a more updated nature, this canna has been "rediscovered" in Botanical Gardens in Australia.

"The original Canna 'Florence Vaughan' has been traced to the Melbourne Botanical Gardens in Australia.
Congratulations are due to Mrs. Dale McDonnell in Australia for tracking down this elusive cultivar, dating back to 1892. Canna 'Florence Vaughan' was traced hiding in the confines of the Melbourne Botanical gardens where it had escaped the vagaries of fashion and nurserymen confusing identities. By bringing this original cultivar to the notice of the international Canna community she has allowed us to put one of the many Canna inconsistencies to rest, at last." Credits to Canna News, Monday, 23 April 2007.

Its name has been used for very similar cannas, such as 'En Evant', 'JB Van der Schoot,' and 'Coq d'Or' (along with the spotted version of 'Yellow King Humbert'), but also for cannas that look nothing like 'Florence Vaughan,' such as 'Britannia', 'Roma', 'Cattleya' (the most common misuse) and 'Italia,' which has a distinctive "cleft" or "hare-lip" on the lower edge of its lower labellum. There are also differences in foliage.

These four most misidentified cannas can have variable (unstable) colour variations during "hotter than normal" weather, but they are never spotted, as is the true 'Florence Vaughan.'

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