334 GENERAL REVIEW. 



gardens, has been made by Miss S. S. Dowson (see ' Jour. Bot.,' 

 1873, p. 103) : " Some Achimenes have a tubular corolla five- 

 cleft, with a swelling just below the top of the throat. There 

 are four perfect stamens, not much differing in length, and the 

 stigma is ultimately two-cleft. In the bud the pistil is much 

 shorter than the stamens; but by the time the bud is just 

 opened, it has lengthened out between the stamens, and its tip 

 is adpressed to the upper lip of the corolla. As .yet the stigma 

 has its two branches closely folded together. The anthers at 

 this time are all four close beneath the end of the pistil, and 

 open downwards. The filaments then begin to contract, and 

 the anthers, which adhere together, are drawn lower; and finally 

 the filaments twist themselves up to such a degree that the 

 anthers are drawn down to the very base of the tube. The 

 object of this is clearly to get them out of the way of the stigma, 

 for during the process the pistil has arched forwards and down- 

 wards, and the two branches of the stigma have opened. They 

 will be seen to form a fork over a slight rising in the middle lip 

 of the corolla, by which entrance to the flower, except exactly 

 under the stigmatic surfaces, is prevented." 



Achimenes Rollisonii is a beautiful hybrid, raised and distri- 

 buted by Messrs Rollison & Sons, Tooting. It has large 

 Gloxinia-like lavender-purple flowers, spotted in the throat with 

 crimson and yellow, and is the result -of a cross between A. 

 (Plectopoma) gloxiniceflora and A. Scheerii (see 'Floral Maga- 

 zine,' t. 217). A. Gibsonii bears large mauve or lilac -fringed 

 flowers, with a white tube. It also is a seminal variety raised 

 by Messrs Rollison & Sons. These plants were the first break 

 from A. (Plectopoma) gloxiniceflora. Other beautiful hybrids 

 from Continental gardens are too numerous to mention in 

 detail, scarcely any two seedlings being exactly alike. Among 

 the oldest hybrids obtained may be mentioned A. Escheriana, 

 obtained by M. Regel, at Zurich, between A. rosea fertilised 

 with pollen of A. longiflora. M. Roe'zl, now one of the most 

 experienced botanical travellers, was one of the first cultivators 

 who hybridised Tydaeas in M. Van Houtte's nursery at Ghent, 

 and numerous forms resulted from T. Warscewiczii and T. picta 

 crossed reciprocally, one of these hybrids being T. gigantea 

 a seedling from T. picta. T. Regelii is a seedling from T. 

 Warscewiczii, the cross being in this case reversed. 



Mandirola (Ncegelia) Roezlii is a hybrid from Gesnera dis- 

 color, fertilised with pollen from Scheeria mexicana. 



M. (Nagelia) picturata of Planchon is a hybrid from M. 

 multiflora, fecundated with pollen from Gesnera zebrina. 



Another of M. Van Houtte's hybrids is Tydaa Ortgiesii, the 



