49 



The loaves of tliis plant are lono^er and firmer tlian those of 

 C. niveuin. attaining 1-i em. by 2.8. They spread and are dark green 

 without the pale sjjots of ('. niveum, but the green is nowhere quite 

 of one colour, yet not wa\e(l. The tip is slightly unequally bilohed, 

 and the keel at the back sliarp. The single peduncle so far pro- 

 duced was about 10 cm. long, and carried one flower; it was dense- 

 ly pubescent, as also the bract, and the ovary. 'J'he fused lower 

 se))aLs of the flower were 2.6 cm. long. The dorsal sepal when flat- 

 tened was deltoidly sul)cordate, 3 cm. long and the same in breadth 

 just above the l^ase ; but in life its margin was conspicuously un- 

 ^dulate. The lateral petals were almost elliptic when flattened, 3.4 

 cm. long, and in life conspicuously undulate. All these were softly 

 and rather densely puljeseent on the back and the margins. The 

 dorsal sepal was marked with lines of violet dots radiating from the 

 base to mid-distance towards the margins, and with a faint lilac 

 flush among the spots. The lateral petals descended but a little 

 from the horizontal, and had a light violet streak right down the 

 centre fading upwards and towards the ti]3. The rest of these 

 organs was white. The lip was white and glabrous; nearly 3 cm. 

 to the base of the bucket, slightly compressed laterally, longer in 

 ])ro])ortion to its width tliat of C. niveum, with the basal lol)es 

 well developed and strongly incurved. The column was thick, and 

 its shield not at all cordate, but widened to a little beyond the 

 middle, and then abruptly narrowed to a very short i^oint; at its 

 base it was suffused with very ]>ale lilac, and in the centre with 

 clirome yellow. 



The chrome yellow conies from its niveum parentage, and so 

 does the absence of isal)elline tints in the flower, but the distribu- 

 tion of the violet to lilac colouring matter comes from the other less 

 obvious ])arent. 



It is the rule for hyl)rids l)et\veen the white ('. niveuin and the 

 isabelline coloured sijecies of Cypripedium to be white. Many have 

 been raised in gardens and are so; but C. yiivenm x Exul has never 

 l>een raised. lAll the hj'brids carry more or less of lilac pigment, 

 and by its distril)ution suggest their second parent. In the case 

 of the plant under discussion, the purple markings suggest C. Exul 

 as regards the dorsal sepal, and C. villosum as regards the laterals 

 petals. But the shape of the flower is more that of C. Exul than 

 of ('. villo.nnn; and the finding of C . Exul in the same region al- 

 most establishes the parentage, 



FuuTiiKu Evidence indicating that the Pi(iEON Oncirm 



(DeNDKOHIUM CI!UMENATUM) FLOWEPiS EIGHT DAYS AFTEIt 



Heavy Kaix, and on the flowei^ing of 

 Saccolabium Calceolus. 



As tlie IJaiiifall statistics for the Botanic Gardens, Singapore, 

 tlirough the year 11)17 have been given -in the last part, it is con- 

 venient to make some remarks upon the flowering of the above- 

 named two orchids in its connection with lieavy rain. Tor the data 

 are available for consultation, 



