THE MOST USEFUL ORCHIDS 113 



species from Peru ; the olive green sepals are shaded with red- 

 brown, and the petals are white with rosy spots, while the lip is 

 also rose and white, with crimson spots. The variety L. M. Measure- 

 siANA has browner sepals, and the rest of the flower is more deeply 

 and densely spotted than the type. 



L. Skinneri is a very variable species in the matter of colour, 

 and where a large batch of this useful Orchid is grown the 

 flowering period may extend from November to March or April. 

 The usual colour is a pale shade of rose, the lip being whitish, with 

 deep crimson spots and shading. The sepals spread out stiffly, and 

 the smaller petals and the lip point forward, making a central 

 feature round the column. Some varieties are deep rose-purple or 

 intense mauve, while at the other end of the scale is the pure white 



L. S. ALBA. L. S. ARMENIACA, bufF tinted ; L. S. HELLEMENSE, 



very finely coloured ; L. S, rosea, deep rose, with white lip ; and 

 L. S. viRGiNALis, white, flushed with silvery rose, are the foremost 

 varieties. 



The finest hybrid is undoubtedly L. Balli^, from L, mac- 

 rophylla and L. Skinneri. L. Cappei, L. Charlesworthii, and 

 L. Mary Gratrix are from the same cross, and therefore varietal 

 forms of the same hybrid. 



Other Species and Hybrids 



L. Barringtoni^, greenish yellow; L. brevispatha, green, 

 white, and rose-purple ; L. cruenta, yellow ; L. gigantea, green 

 and purple; L. lanipes, white and green; L. macrobulbon, 

 yellow and orange; L. Schilleriana, creamy white; and 

 L. tetragona, yellow-green, brown, and violet, are all good 

 species. 



Other hybrids are L. Groganii [L. aromatica x L. Deppei) ; 



