October 13, 1888.] 



THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE. 



407 



That is a descendant from Cypripedium venustum bi- 

 florum and C. Lowei, while Mr. Bell's plant is derived 

 from C. Lowei and venustum purpureum. The 

 chief characteristic lies in the staminode. Cypri- 

 pedium calanthum has that of C. venustum, while 

 C. chelseenseX has that of C. Lowei. The colour 

 of the flower is totally distinct. There is a veiy 

 near ally of those two, Cypripedium ptycnopterum, 

 one of those Orchids whnse parentage is not known. 

 At all events its staminode gives it a full claim for 

 distinction, and, excepting the petals, the whole 

 flower is green. The plant is very beautiful. 

 The leaf at hand is 1 foot long. The brown 

 peduncle is very long, with a shortly hairy surface, 

 and bears two flowers. The bracts are very short, 

 spathaceo-ancipitous, semi oblong, acute, greenish, 

 with mauve-purple veins. The dorsal sepal is 

 elliptic acute, with reddish veins. The inferior 

 part is covered with blackish-brown, the superior 

 is yellowish-green. The petals are very shining, 

 ligulate, broader towards the apex, bent in a revo- 

 late manner in the middle, blunt acute at the apex, 

 dark purple on the anterior part, green at the 

 superior part, with small blackish freckles, and 

 ciliate at the superior margin. Lip nearly like that 

 of Cypripedium Lowei, with strong lateral horns, 

 brownish, with an inferior, ochre colored midline. 

 Staminode cuneate dilatate, as in Cypripedium 

 Lowei, forcipate at the apex, with a very small 

 median apiculus, light red, with a dark green median 

 tesselation. Dimensions of Cypripedium Lowei. 



The lover of Orchid hybrids and the Cypripedists 

 will receive this novelty with delight. H. G. Bchb, f. 



CyPniPEDIUMPOI.YSTIGJIATICCM X (vEMTJSTUM SpiCERI- 



ancm), hyb. Angl. Measures. 



Mr. R. Measures, of The Woodlands, Streathan, 

 begins now to reap the fruits of his cypripedic efforts. 

 Fresh hybrids are now growing in his houses. This 

 one has leaves of the shape of those of Cypripedium 

 venustum, lightest green — some with broken trans- 

 verse stripes. The strong peduncle may become two- 

 flowered. There is a prolongation of the axis next 

 to the flowers. As it is broken off at the top I 

 cannot ascertain more. The peduncle is brownish- 

 red, with short hairs. The wide acute bract is open 

 in a cup-like manner, green, with blackish-red stripes 

 and lines of spots. It is nearly equal to one-third of 

 the length of the ovary, which is very short, hairy, 

 and of a much lighter colour than the peduncle. The 

 dorsal sepal reminds me of Cypripedium Spicerianum, 

 both by the shape and by the margins revolute from 

 the middle to the base. The nerves are broad 

 with ramifications of purple. They end in front of a 

 white apicular part. The inferior sepal is narrower, 

 oblong apiculate, white, with a lightish ochre hue. 

 Lines of brownish purple spots run over it, chiefly 

 outside. Petals divaricate, ligulate, acute, revolved in 

 the middle, green at the base, light reddish-brown 

 from the superior mid to apex. A dark brownish- 

 purple line runs over the centre vein. Similar spots 

 occur under it, and numerous small blackish spots 

 stand on the basilar green area. The large lip has 

 strong lateral horns, and an almost rectilinear border 

 round the mouth. The colour is light brownish- 

 purple, with an ochre shade on the inferior median 

 area. The staminode is quite transverse elliptic. 

 It has a median, very obscure tooth in the middle 

 of the front side, and a thicker and very short one 

 on each side. The colour is light purple, with some 

 green areoles in the centre. 



There can be no doubt about the descent from 

 Cypripedium Spicerianum. The leaf speaks of Cypri- 

 pedium venustum or of one of its allies by the dark 

 transverse bars. I cannot, however, account for those 

 little blackish spots on the green base of the petals, 

 which are suggestive of Cypripedium hirsutissimum. 

 B. G.Bchb.f. 



CYPRIPEDIUM VABIOPICTUM X (LaURENCEIANUM 



Spiceriaxtjm), n. hyb., Angl., Measure*. 



This mule was raised by Mr. K. Measures, of The 



Woodlands, Streatham. It is a very effective novelty. 



The parentage is the same as that of Cypripedium 



radiosumx, Rchb. f., Sept., 1883— serf quantum dis- 



tabatabillo! It is quite distinct in colour, having 

 the petals of C. polystigmaticum, those of C. radi- 

 osum are green, washed on the borders with sepia. 

 The lip is reddish-purple and ochre, while it is sepia- 

 brown with a greenish border round the mouth in C. 

 radiosum. The staminode is mauve with a white 

 border in this plant, purple with a white centre 

 and some green dendritic markings in the middle in 

 C. variopictum. If an amateur ordered the one and 

 obtained the other he might — and duly so — get ex- 

 ceedingly cross. 



The leaves are shaped like those of Cypripedium 

 venustum, in colour green with darker, often flexuose, 

 margin. Peduncle thin, very long, dark purplish- 

 brown. Bracts ancipitous, ligulate-acute, green, 

 with blackish-purple lines and spots ; it is altogether 

 much shorter than the reddish-brown ovary. Dorsal 

 sepal elliptic-acute, whitish-green at the base, with 

 radiating veins. Lateral sepals shorter than the 

 lip, whitish-ochre, very pale, with brown veins. Petals 

 deflexed, ligulate-acute, with dark purple mid-line, 

 superior yellowish, partly covered with dark spots; 

 anterior part brownish-purple, superior margin very 

 hairy. Lip light ochre, purple outside. Staminode 

 transverse elliptical, the front having large lateral 

 teeth, with minute central apiculus. The centre is 

 white, with green dendritic marks ; sides purple. 



B. G. Rchb.f. 



Cypripedium Savageandm, n. hyb. 

 A plant of this exceedingly pretty and compact- 

 growing variety, the result of crossing Cypripedium 

 Harrisianum with C. Spicerianum, is now in bloom 

 at Messrs. Seeger& Tropp's nursery, Lordship Lane, 

 S.E. The foliage is veined, as in C. Harrisianum, 

 but the leaves are much shorter and the veining 

 closer. The dorsal sepal of the flower is in form 

 much as in C. Harrisianum, one-third of the outer 

 surface being snow-white, within which is a rose- 

 coloured area, the base being emerald-green, the 

 dark line running up the centre is as in C. Spiceri- 

 anum. The petals and pouch are in form near to 

 those organs in C. Spicerianum, the petals tinged 

 with rose and having a dark and well defined line 

 up the middle of each. It is a charming flower, and 

 is named in honour of the grower of Mr. Kimball's 

 noted collection at New York. The opposite cross 

 resulted in C. Seegerianum, in which, in the resemb- 

 lance to the parents the features are the opposite to 



C. Savageanum. J. OB. 



Crocosma aurea var. macdlata, Baker. 

 This is a fine variety of Crocosma aurea, Planchon 

 (Tritonia aurea, Pappe.), which for garden purposes 

 is well worth distinguishing from the original type 

 as figured Bot. Mag., t. 4335. The bright orange- 

 yellow oblanceolate-unguiculate perianth-segments 

 are above 1 inch long, so that the deflexed expanded 

 limb is 2.V inches in diameter, and the three inner 

 segments have a blotch of red-brown at the top of 

 the concave claw. The stamens and style are as 

 long as the segments of the perianth. We are in- 

 debted for a fine living specimen to Mr. James 

 O'Brien, of Harrow-on-the-Hill. He is not certain 

 as to the exact locality where it was found wild, but 

 thinks it is inland from Algoa Bay. The 6pecies has 

 a wide range, as it has been gathered during the last 

 few years on the mountains of East Tropical Africa 

 within 6° of the equator. The Mozambique, Cro- 

 canthus mossambicensis of Klotsch, is a mere 

 form of the same species. J. G. Baker. 



The Bulb Garden. 



FREESIAS FROM SEED. 

 These lovely Cape flowers deserve to be grown 

 more extensively than they are. Hitherto the 

 high prices of bulbs have been a great drawback ; 

 but at the present time they are within the reach of 

 every one, and can be bought for Is. per dozen, and 

 much cheaper in larger quantities. About four 

 years ago a friend of mind bought 600, for which 

 he paid £7 10«. A pint measure would have held 



the whole of the bulbs. They may be had in 

 bloom from bulbs, and bud nearly the whole year 

 round. Few flowers are more accommodating to the 

 skill and attention of the cultivator, nor are they 

 particular as regards soil — only moderately good 

 free soil will suit them. Bulbs planted in August 

 will, if kept in a warm house, give flowers for Christ- 

 mas, and a succession of planting will give a succes- 

 sion of blooming. Plants from seed sown in March 

 will bloom the following autumn. I have a bed 

 now in bloom, the seeds of which were sown in the 

 open ground, just as I should have sown Radish 

 seed, the first week in April. They have had 

 no more care than a bed of hardy annuals, 

 not a sheet of glass, nor even a drop of water from 

 the watering can. They have not been moved from 

 the seed-bed. I pulled up one of the blooming 

 plants to examine the bulb, when I found that it 

 was not larger than a Radish seed, but there wsa a 

 long tap-root. The bulbs increase very rapidly, not 

 only round the base of the parent bulb, but from 

 two or three joints of the blooming stem ; they are 

 also good seed bearers. J. C. Tomkin, Isles of Seitty. 



A MYCOLOGICAL EXCURSION 

 IN SWEDEN. 



The desire to visit Sweden, the country of the 

 illustrious Fries, is common to all mycologists whose 

 enthusiasm in the pursuit of their favourite study is 

 sufficient to render them worthy of the name. It 

 has been the privilege of the writer during the 

 present autumn to accomplish this wish. As most 

 British mycologists are readers of the Gardeners' 

 Chronicle a short account of the excursion will pro- 

 bably be of interest. My object in visiting Sweden 

 was, not so much to find new or rare species of the 

 Hymenomycetes as to clear up, if possible, certain 

 difficulties which for many years past have troubled 

 me with regard to several of the commoner species. 

 These difficulties have increased rather than dimi- 

 nished during the past twenty years, in spite of 

 frequent communications with almost all. if not all, 

 our leading mycologists, either personally or by 

 letter, and of visiting every year one or more of our 

 annual fungus forays. I wish to speak for no one 

 but myself ; others who have entered upon the study 

 more recently may have been much more successful 

 — to them the Cortinarii present no difficulties, the 

 Russulce are simple, and the Lactarii abundantly 

 distinct. 



With this object in view I sought to find some 

 mycologist in Sweden who had been personally 

 acquainted with the views of Fries, who had botanised 

 with him, and who knew from actual contact with 

 him his opinions of the species as they occurred in 

 the field. For this purpose no one was, I knew, more 

 able to render me help than his son, Dr. Robert 

 Fries, of Gottenburg, who had not only for many 

 years worked in the field with his father, but who 

 also had been his coadjutor in the Hymenomycetes 

 Europcei and in the Icones Selectee Hymcnomycetum. 

 In Dr. Fries I may at once say I found one not only 

 able, but willing, to help. Arriving at Gottenburg 

 on a Monday evening, having secured a good room 

 at the hotel with plenty of light and abundance of 

 table-room I was ready for business. The Swedes 

 are early people, so a preliminary run round the 

 Botanic Garden before breakfast next morning was 

 made ; this gave evidence that fungi were to be 

 found, A. cri6tatus and A. carneus being abundant 

 on the lawns. Later in the morning Slottsskogen 

 was visited. This is a place of public resort near 

 Gottenburg, a sort of half park, half garden. It was 

 too late in the year for most of the flowering plants, 

 but Hieracium umbellatum and Silene rupestris were 

 in full blossom. The rocks were covered with 

 lichens, among which Umbilicaria pustulata was very 

 conspicuous. Of fungi, A. fastigiatus, Russula 

 integra, fellea, Lactarius cimicarius, and Marasmius 

 scorodonius were gathered. A large bush of Ribes 

 aureum wasliterally covered with Cronartium ribicola, 

 one of the Uredinea? which has not yet crossed the 

 silver Btreak, although it is abundantly common on 



