32 THE WOODLANDS ORCHIDS 



Cattleya Mossiae 



Since Cattleya Mossiae was introduced more than two 

 generations ago, and remains perhaps the commonest of the 

 species, I need not describe it. Mrs. Moss of Ottersfoot, by 

 Liverpool, conferred the name in 1856. Love of orchids is 

 a heritage in that family — so is the love of rowing. The 

 lady's grandson, Sir J. Edwardes Moss, now living, was Stroke 

 of the O.U.B.C. and at Eton, as were his father and his uncle. 

 And the ancestral collection of orchids is still maintained. 



White Mossiaes are not uncommon, though their exquisite 

 beauty makes them precious in all meanings of the term. 



Mrs. R. H. Measures is best of all — a famous variety — 

 white of sepal and petal. Deep and graceful frilling on the 

 lip is always characteristic of this species ; it reaches absolute 

 perfection here. The yellow of the throat is much subdued, 

 but purple lines issuing from it spread over all the white lip, 

 with a very curious effect. Purple also is the frilling. 



Grandiflora. — Deep rose. Petals very broad, lip immense, 

 finely mottled and veined with purple. 



Excelsior. — Blush -rose. Lip rosy purple, with a white 

 margin. 



Gilbert Measures. — A superb variety. White with a 

 faint flush. Sepals and petals unusually solid. Lip very 

 widespread, with purple lines and splashes of magenta-purple. 



Gigantea. — Biggest of all. Rosy pink. The orange 

 of the enormous lip and the frilling specially fine. 



Catt. Wageneri, though granted a specific title, is a 

 variety of Cattleya Mossiae, from Caracas, discovered by 

 Wagener in 1851; white, excepting a yellow blotch on 

 the lip. 



From the roof, among a hundred smaller plants ot 

 Cattleya, hangs a specimen of Laelia praestans alba, as rare as 



