1900 SUPPLEMENT—RECENT INTRODUCTIONS, &C. 
571 
Opuntia—continued. 
O. polyantha (many-flowered). #. pale sulphur-yellow, lin. 
in diameter; stamens white; style five- to seven-cleft. July 
to October. Stem sub-erect ; joints oblong, 6in. to Sin. long ; 
areole slightly spaced, furnished with yellow hairs and six to 
eight sub-equal, yellow spines marked with brown. kh. Sft. 
South America, 1811. Syn. Cactus polyanthos (B. M. 2691). 
0. Rafinesquii arkansana (Arkansas).* jl. light yellow, 
34in. across. June and July. Hardy, 
O. ramosissima (much-branched). A synonym of 0. tessellata 
O. rhodantha (red-flowered).* (fl. silky carmine, 3}in. across, 
having the corolla and filaments red, the anthers yellow, the 
stigma green, and the ovary smooth. June. Joints obovate, 
covered with long glaucous spines. Colorado, 1896. Hardy. 
O. r. brevispina Kehorieapinesy: Jl. large. Joints rather large 
thick, obovate, dark greyish-green; spines reddish when young. 
Colorado, 1899. 
0. r. flavispina (yellow-spined). Joints thinner than in 
brevispina; spines longer, yellow on young joints, with a 
darker point. Colorado, 1899. 
O. rosea (rosy).* l. bright rose, 2in. across, borne on the ends 
of the ripened growths of the year, usually clustered. June. 
Stem erect, freely branching ; joints 2in. to 6in. long, cylin- 
drical; tubercles ridge-like, bearing on their points small 
cushions of very fine bristles, and tufts of pale yellowish 
spines about tin. long all pointing upwards. Brazil. <A 
distinct and handsome, but rare species. 
O. Scheeri (Scheer’s). 7. not known. Plant shrubby, branched, 
upright, green. Joints oval, nearly rhomboidal, or reversed 
egg-shaped; areols woolly; spines twelve or less, citron- 
yellow, thin, brittle, sin. long. A. 3ft. Mexico. 
O. Schwerini (Schwerin’s). (fl. bright greenish-yellow. Joints 
small, shortly obovate, thickly beset with slender, white spines. 
Colorado, 1899. : 
0. spinosissima (very spiny). 1. reddish-orange, 2in. across. 
June. Stem erect, woody (becoming cylindrical with age, and 
sometimes devoid of branches for about 5ft. from the ground); 
joints very flat and thin, deep green, ovate or rounded, 6in. to 
12in. long; cushions lin. apart; bristles very short; spines in 
clusters of about five, the longest 2in. long, brownish-yellow. 
h, 20ft. South America, 1732. Stove. Probably a form of 0. Tuc. 
Fie. 607. OPUNTIA PAPYRACANTHA. 
O. stricta (erect). $l. yellow, Zin. across. July. ./r. pyriform, 
dark violet, not edible. Plant erect; joints obovate, 14in 
long, 3in. to Sin. broad, slightly or not at all spiny, but 
furnished with very numer small bristles. kh. 
Tropical America, 1796. SYN. O. inermis. 
7) 
1sft. to 2ft. 
0. subulata (awl-sh»ped).* fl. dull purple, small. — Spring. 
Jr. pyriform, 4in. long; seeds nearly sin. across. J. green, 
subulate, 2in. to 5in. long. Stem erect, cylindrical, 2in. thick, 
channelled and tubercled above; joints long and branch-like, 
with tufts of short white hairs on the tips of the tubereles, 
and one or two white spines sin. to lin. long. South 
America, A handsome, warm greenhouse species. 
oO. tessellata (tessellated). jl. purple, 2in. across. Stem thick, 
with dark grey, scaly bark; branches clothed with ash-grey 
tubercles, each bearing a small tuft of wool and a stout, 
straight, yellow spine 2in. long, enclosed in a loose, yellow 
sheath, A. 2ft. to 6ft. California, &e. A bushy plant.” SYN 
O. ramosissina. There is a crested variety of this, which is 
beautiful if somewhat scarce. 
OQ. tetracantha (four-spined). f. 
scarlet, ovate. Stem and joints 
bright 
greenish-purple. /r. 
with 
cylindrical, covered 
Opuntia—continued. 
prominent tubercles bearing tufts of brown bristles and straw- 
coloured, flattened, deflexed, loosely-sheathed spines. h. 2ft 
to 5ft. Arizona, 1896. A branched shrub. 
0. tomentosa (downy). Jl. reddish. Plant erect, of a pleasing 
green, tomentose; joints lanceolate, compressed, 6in. long, 
obovate or lanceolate, tubercular; spines all bristly, scarcely 
exceeding the tomentum. hk. 2ft. Mexico, 1820. 
O. Tuna horrida (horrid). Stem stout, erect ; joints flattened ; 
cushions lin. apart, composed of short reddish bristles and 
long tawny-red spines, about eight in each cushion, having a 
very ferocious appearance. Probably Mexico, 1795. 
O. Whipplei (Capt. Whipple’s).* #. red, 2in. across, clustered. 
June. jr. lin. long. Stem usually pri rate, with slender, 
elongated’ branches, which are cylindrical when old, and 
broken into short joints when young; joints 2in. to 12in. long, 
less than lin. in diameter; cushions small, round; spines 
white, variable, one lin. long, the rest smaller, Mexico. A 
free-flowering, stove species. 
O. xanthostema (yellow-stamened). jl. of a carmine-red, 
having dark yellow filaments and a prickly ovary. Colorado, 
1896. Hardy. 
O. x. fulgens (bright).* l. vivid crimson, superior in colour to 
the type. 
O. x. orbicularis (orbicular). Joints medium-sized, roundish, 
dark greyish-green; spines brown when young. Colorado, 1899. 
O. x. rosea (rosy).* A profuse variety bearing rosy-carmine 
flowers. 
ORANGE RUST OF ROSES. ‘See Rosa— 
Fungi. 
ORANGE THORN. See Citriobatus. 
ORANIA. To the species described on p. 508, 
Vol. II., the following should be added: 
O. nicobarica (Nicobar Islands). A synonym of Bentinckia 
nicobarica. 
O. nivea (snowy). ‘A tall Palm, of vigorous growth, with 
large, shining green leaves, white on their wnder-surface” 
(“Kew Bulletin”). Habitat not recorded, 1886. 
0. philippinensis is grown at Kew, but is not in general 
cultivation. 
ORBIGNYA (a commemorative name). Orv. Palme 
A small genus (five or six species) of stove, unarmed, 
dwarf or tall palms, closely allied to Jubwa, natives of 
Bolivia and Brazil. O. Lydiw and O. Sagotii are included 
in the Kew Collection, but they are not in general 
cultivation. 
ORCHIDANTHA. A synonym of Lowia (which see). 
ORCHID HYBRIDISATION. Although the art 
of Orchid Hybridisation may still be termed as in its 
infancy, there cannot be two opinions as to the prominent 
part if must play in the future. The collector carries on 
his work of destruction when procuring the various species 
which, as in the case of Odontoglossum crispwm, are put 
upon the European markets ‘by hundreds of thousands 
annually. This, combined with the spread of civilisation, 
the pressure of cultivation, and the gradual pressure of a 
dense population, will ultimately result in the extinction 
of many of the most popular species now in cultivation. 
If any illustration of this fact were necessary, we need only 
refer to our native hardy Cypripedium Calceolus, which 
has become virtually extinct in this country, but owing 
to its extensive distribution over central Europe it is still 
comparatively plentiful in places. Though the process otf 
extinction may be slow, the fact remains of its gradual 
progress. It is thus, then, that we shall have to depend 
on the work of the hybridist to retain the species by 
raising them from seed, as well as by procuring new sorts 
by the act of cross-fertilisation. 
The art of Orchid Hybridisation was first introduced by 
the late Mr. J. Dominy, in the nurseries of Messrs. J. Veitch 
and Sons, at Exeter. Mr. Dominy, upon the suggestion 
of Dr. Harris, a surgeon of that town, commenced his 
experiments in 1852. It was in October, 1856, that the first 
hybrid (Calanthe Dominii) flowered. Mr. Dominy carried 
on the work successfully among the various sections of 
the Orchid family for twenty years, having flowered during 
that time about twenty-five hybrids—the last, and probably 
the best, being ‘‘ Lelia,” now classed as Lelio-Cattleya 
Dominiana, which flowered in 1878. 
Mr. Seden, who succeeded Mr. Dominy in this department, 
has been most suecessful in introducing hybrids of sterling 
merit, Other nurserymen, gentlemen, and gardeners in 
private establishments have suecessfally taken up the 
work in such earnest that there is scarcely a place in this 
