Flower star-like, to 4¼ inches (11 cm) across. Petals obovate, magnificently colored, inners deep magenta with dark bronzy-orange basal stripe, dark magenta midrib and light magenta margin, bases of petals deep purplish. Outer petals and sepals projecting beyond inners, dark red. Throat-circle light orange. Filaments dark fuchsia; cream-colored anthers contrasting to petals. Stigma pale green. Stem globular, to 4 inches (10 cm) in diameter, central spines to ¾ inch (20 mm) long. According to Schick, “The parents of my 1490 cross, of which ‘Oracle’ was one of the progeny, were ‘Don Juan’—its flower brilliantly colored but short-lasting—and the long-lasting, but more plainly marked, ‘Sonnet’. The purpose of the cross was to develop a long-lasting Don Juan-like flower. Although ‘Oracle’ did not turn out to be exactly ‘Don Juan’-like in color, nor was its flower particularly long-lasting, it surpassed all my expectations in its splendor.” ISI 99-15; HBG 82627, Schick 1490-47.
