1869.] NEW PLANTS OF THE PAST MONTH. 37 



'NEW PLANTS OF THE PAST MONTH. 



{Continued from 'p. 530 of 1868.) 



It is always pleasant to note that just at the dullest season of the 

 year, when of out-of-door flowers it may be truly said, 



" Through all the long dark winter time 

 They mourn within their dreary cells," 



then is it the fitting time for some of the most magnificent of 

 the Orchid family to appear in all their almost unrivalled splen- 

 dour — the very aristocracy of the kingdom of flowers. Especially 

 did this appear to be noticeable at the meeting of the Floral Com- 

 mittee on the 17th of November, when some grand Orchids put in 

 appearance, several of them being new, and of great beauty. Messrs 

 Veitch & Sons of Chelsea received first-class certificates for the fol- 

 lowing : for Pleione Eeichenbachiana, a beautiful and perfectly distinct 

 species of the Pleione group of Calogynes, from Moulmein — the 

 sepals rosy lilac, the lip white, and marked on the disc with straight 

 lines of deep magenta purple : — Mr Bateman has described the Pleiones 

 as " the autumn Crocuses of the Himalaya Mountains," as they did 

 not produce flowers and leaves at the same time : — for Phaius irroratus, 

 a hybrid obtained by Mr Dominy, and resulting from a cross between 

 Calanthe vestita alba and Phaius grandiflorus, taking the habit and 

 growth of the latter, — the erect spike, w^hen fully developed, being 

 from 2 to 3 feet in leno-th : the flowers differ from those of the Phaius 

 in having the spur of the Calanthe, the throat being also less deep, and 

 having less of the trampet shape than in the case of the Phaius : 

 colour, creamy white tinged with pink, thus differing from either 

 parent ; the flowers also being further apart on the spike than in the 

 case of the Phaius : — for Oncidium cucuUatuni Phalsenopsis, a very 

 pretty variety, differing from the ordinary form of O. cucuUatum in 

 having the labellum pure white instead of pink, richly spotted at the 

 base ; and for Oncidium Forbesii, with strong, dark-brown flowers 

 and a yellow mottled edge, introduced some years ago, but since lost 

 sight of, and now shown in fine condition. It was also exhibited by 

 Mr B. S. Williams of Holloway, under the name of 0. crispum mar- 

 ginatum, and received the same award. A first-class certificate was 

 likewise awarded to Mr B. S. Williams for Oncidium holochrysum, 

 wdth rich, bright yellow flowers, — a small but very fine species. 



In addition to what has been here stated, ^Messrs Veitch tfe Sons 

 had fine examples of the splendid Cattleya Exoniensis, and the equally 

 valuable and beautiful Cattleya Dominiana — both illustrations of Mr 

 Dominy's successful efforts at hybridising : the finely-coloured Calanthe 



