xl THE HISTORY OF THE BOTANICAL MAGAZINE 
at the beginning of the present century, though this fact was 
not made known till some forty years later ; and it was not 
till 1837 that the botanical world was familiarized with it. 
Sir Robert Schomburgk discovered it in British Guiana 
early in the year named, and transmitted a description and 
drawings of it to the Geographical Society of London, 
suggesting the name Nymphea Victoria. The drawings 
were placed in Dr. Lindley’s hands, and he, detecting 
characters of sufficient importance to give the plant inde- 
pendent generic rank, proposed naming it Victoria regia, a 
proposal graciously accepted by her Majesty. Accordingly, 
in August, 1837, there appeared a coloured plate, of atlas 
folio size, together with full description, dedication, and 
history. This memoir was privately printed, and the entire 
issue consisted of only twenty-five copies, one of which is at 
Kew, from the library of Sir William Hooker. 
HerBACEouS CALCEOLA RIAS. 
I shall be excused, perhaps, for harking back to plate 
3255 (Calceolaria crenatiflora) in order to say a word or 
two respecting the history of .the singularly rich and 
variable race of hybrid herbaceous Calceolarias, the be- 
ginning of which dates back between fifty and sixty years. 
The principal parents were C. corymbosa (pl. 2418) and 
C. arachnoidea (pl. 2874), both natives of South America, 
as are all the numerous species, except two, peculiar to 
New Zealand. Looking at the figures of the parent species 
one could hardly imagine it possible that they could have 
given birth to such a brilliantly variable progeny ; but any 
doubt will be dispelled on reference to the figure of 
C. Youngii (Botanical Register, t. 1448), one of the earliest, 
if not the very first, of these hybrids. This appeared in 
1831, and three years later C. Knypersliensis was figured 
in Sweet’s British Flower Garden; of this C. crenatiflora is 
recorded as one of the parents. 
The seventy-fourth volume (1848) comes next, and it 
contains such a large proportion of handsome and curious 
plants, that it is difficult to make a selection for special 
notice. Foremost amongst standard stove plants are 
Allamanda Schottii and A. Aubletii, Hoya imperialis and 
H. bella. Napoleona imperialis, a remarkable anomalous 
tropical African tree, belonging to a tribe of Myrtacez 
characteristic of and almost peculiar to the flora of South 
America, is represented on plate 4387. 
The next volume contains Dendrobium Devonianum 
