HORTUS VEITCHII 



Calanthe x lentiginosa from C. labrosa and C. x Veitchii ; Cypripedium (Seleni- 

 pedium) x Schroderse from Selenipedium caudatum and the hybrid S. x Sedenii, 

 one of the finest of this group of Slipper Orchids, and Cattleya x triophthalma, 

 from C. superba and Lseliocattleya exoniensis, a rare hybrid, two plants only 

 being raised. 



In 1884 five flowered at Chelsea, comprising two Cypripediums, two Lselias and 

 a Masdevallia. This last-named was M. x Gairiana obtained by crossing the 

 yellow-flowered M. Davisii with the scarlet-flowered M. Veitchiana. It received 

 the name Gairiana in compliment to John Gair Esq., of Falkirk. 



A hybrid of great interest in a new genus flowered for the first time in 

 1885, Thunia x Veitchiana, a charming seedling from T. Marshalliana and 

 T. Bensonise. Six others followed : Dendrobium x euosmum from D. x 

 endocharis and D. nobile ; Cypripedium (Selenipedium) x leucorrhodum from 

 Selenipedium Roezlii and S. Schlimii ; Zygopetalum x pentachromum from 

 Z. Mackayi and Z. maxillare ; Lseliocattleya Canhamiana from Lselia purpurata 

 and Cattleya Mossise ; Cypripedium x radiosum from C. Lawrenceanum and 

 C. Spicerianum, and Cattleya x porphyrophlebia from C. X intermedia and 

 C. superba. 



The most remarkable plant of 1886 was Lselia x Batemanniana, so called 

 when first exhibited, but now known under the more appropriate title of 

 Sophrocattleya Batemanniana, a bigeneric hybrid raised by Seden from 

 Sophronitis grandiflora and Cattleya intermedia, described by Professor 

 Reichenbach as "a lovely gem ; a miniature Lselia," and dedicated to James 

 Bateman Esq., of Worthing, an enthusiastic orchidist. 



The five following hybrids also appeared in 1886, viz. : Cypripedium x 

 Winnianum derived from C. villosum and C. Druryi ; C. x orphanum, of unrecorded 

 parentage ; Zygopetalum x leopardinum, also unrecorded ; and Masdevallia x 

 glaphyrantha from M. infracta and M. Barlseana. 



The year 1887 was remarkable for several striking crosses which made their 

 appearance at Chelsea first Zygocolax Veitchii, a bigeneric seedling from 

 Zygopetalum crinitum with the pollen of Colax jugosus, the plants but a little 

 over five years old when they flowered. 



* " The appearance of this plant marked a new era in the history of Orchid 

 hybridization, as it led to an extension of the principle of compounding a new 

 name derived from the joint names of the parent genera for all hybrids between 

 species of different genera raised in gardens," as proposed by Dr. Masters in 1872 

 when naming Philageria Veitchii, a bigeneric hybrid between Philesia buxifolia 

 and Lapageria rosea. 



Phaiocalanthe Sedenianus, another bigeneric cross, from Phaius grandifolius 

 and Calanthe x Veitchii, flowered the same year and named after the raiser. 

 Other hybrids of note, Phalsenopsis x Rothschildiana, the second hybrid in 

 the genus, was obtained from P. Schilleriana and P. grandiflora (amabilis), 

 and dedicated to Lord Rothschild ; P. x Hariettise from P. amabilis and P. 

 violacea, named after Hariett, daughter of the late Hon. Erastus Corning of 

 Albany, U.S.A. ; Dendrobium x Cybele from D. Findlayanum and D. nobile ; 

 Lseliocattleya x Zenobia from Cattleya Loddigesii and Leelia elegans Turnerii ; 

 and Cypripedium x obscurum, of unrecorded parentage. 



* Rolfe in Jour. Linn. Soc. vol. xxiv. pp. 156-170. 



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