18 



THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE. 



[January 13, 1912. 



practically no exposure to the air, they 

 had a very deleterious effect, nearly, 

 if not quite, as great as when grass was 

 grown above the roots of trees in the 

 ordinary way." The explanation given is 

 that the supposed toxic mat »r in the 



teachings is readily oxidisable, and thus 

 made harmless. It may be supposed, 

 however, that teachings poured into a 

 flower-pot containing a tree would reach 

 the roots in less than a minute, and that 



NEW OR NOTEWORTHY 



PLANTS. 



A NEW IRIS. 



The description of new species from dried 

 herbarium material alone is never entirely satis- 

 factory, but, as the publication of what is known 

 of the plants and of the localities in which they 

 are to be found may lead to their introduction 

 into cultivation, it seems at least worth while to 

 give this information with regard to plants only 

 the degree of oxidation effected could not known at present as herbarium specimens. 



be very much greater than when the teach- 

 ings reached the roots through ;i tray with 

 a perforated bottom. Unh s the tray, 

 which had a slit in it to allow of fitting 



Iris tenuissima sp. now* 



This new species was found by H. E. Brown 



\'o. 239), in 1897, near Pit River Ferry, in 



., i ii j_ c ii » 14. the Shasta Countv of California, at an eleva- 



lt around the stem ot the tree, was kept nnnnnn « \ m\ i • * •* 



. ., .. M , ,, , tion of 700 900 feet. The only specimens of it 



there permanently it could not affect any fchat l ^ geen are five fl[nvering stems and a 



aeration that might take place after the t ft f } Qn gi le h t wMdl i found 



wnfprino- with the lo-ii-hincrc nnrl if it, was „ , , . r crossing Uattleya labiata autumnalis wi 



L T 1 .! fu 1 11 V nil.™ ^^ ^^ SOme 1 ""' banurn *P eci ™n* <* pollen of L*lio-Cattleya bletchleyensis. 



kept there for the long period necessary 

 to show the ill effects produced, these 

 might result from keeping the surface of 

 the soil constantly covered. 1 idcnce 



American I rise* lent to me by the kindness of 

 Dr. Rose, from the United States National 

 Herbarium, at Washington, D.C. It is dis- 

 tinguished at once from all other American Irises 



with which it might be compared are I. Doug, 

 lasiana and I. macrosiphon ; from the former 

 however, it clearly differs in the formation of 

 the tube and ovary, as well as by its very elon- 

 gated and narrow style crests and segments, and 

 from the latter by the broader, shorter spat he* 

 and comparatively short perianth tube. 



Unless the specimens described represent some 

 abnormality, the flowers of this Iris must be 

 strikingly different from those of any other 

 species, and it would be interesting if seeds 

 could be obtained and the plant introduced int 

 cultivation. The flowers are apparently yellow 

 in colour, though dried specimens are a very un- 

 reliable guide in this respect. IF. R. Dyl 

 Charterhouse, Godahn ing. 



LJELIO-CATTLEYA MOSSEMILIAKA. 



HORT. 



This is a new hybrid, raised in the nursery of 

 Mr. C. F. Karthaus, Potsdam, Germany, bv 

 crossing Cattleya labiata autumnalis with the 



The 



plants are of vigorous growth, the pseudo-bulbs 

 being from 12^ cm. to 24 cm. long, and 31 mm. 



more conclusive must be addm d before by the extreme fineness of the segments of the 



to 73 mm. in circumference. The leaves are 

 rather narrow. 18 cm. to 34 cm. long, and 4.5 cm. 

 to 7.3 cm. wide. 







Fig. 13.— cypripedium spectabi 



LE AT STRAFFAN* HOUSE, CO. KILDARE. 



{.Photograph by W. Willcocks, 





the theory is accepted that the bad effect flower, and by the peculiar character of the The stalk, which rises from a .large sheath. 



of growing grass over the roots of trees spathes. 



is due to toxic excretions from the grass. 

 Upon this subject and some other points 

 alluded to above, further evidence, it may 

 be hoped, will be afforded by a continua- 

 tion of the interesting experiments at 



Wob 



urn 



CYPRIPEDIUM SPECTABILE. 



Cypripedium spectabile is generally planted 

 in a bog on the rock-garden, but, in many 

 localities, it will grow well and flower freely 

 in an ordinary border, as may be seen 

 on reference to fig. 13, which shows a 

 bateh of about 60 plants of this hardy Orchid 

 growing on a north border at Straffan House, Co. 

 Kildare. Mr. Bedford, the gardener, to whom 

 we are indebted for the photograph, recommends 

 October as the best time for planting, and the 

 placing of the roots about 4 inches deep in a mix- 

 ture of leaf-mould and peat. A north border is 

 an advantage, as cool conditions suit the plants 

 during hot weather. C. spectabile is a native of 

 North America, where it is known as the Mocas- 

 sin flower; the petals and sepals are white, the 

 large, pouched lip being a bright shade of rose. 



The leaves are linear, acuminate, about 12 

 inches or 14 inches long by ± inch wide, and the 

 rhizome is evidently of the slender, wide-creeping 

 kind that is so characteristic of the Western 

 American species. The stems are about a foot 

 in height, clothed with three or four reduced 

 leaves, and each bears a single head of two 

 flowers, enclosed in somewhat broad, acuminate, 



bears from two to five blossoms, of a diameter 

 of about 14 cm. By reason of its ample dimen- 

 sions, the aspect of the plant differs from that re- 

 sulting from another cross of similar parentage, 

 namely, L.-C. Lucasiana, which is distinguished 

 by thick-set, compact growth. The sepals and 

 petals in the two hybrids are similar, but the lip 

 of L.-C. Mossemiliana more closely resembles that 

 nf La?lia callistoulossa var. inversa Co^n. Not 



rigid spathes, about 2 inches long. The com- only is the lip similar to that of the Gloxinia, but 

 paratively broad ovary is borne on a pedicel the colour also recalls this flower, the delicate hue 

 about § inch long, and passes abruptly into a 

 perianth tube of over an inch in length. 



deepening in parts to an intense violet-mauve. 

 The golden, purple-striped patch in the throat is 



Both the standards and the falls are narrow reduced to verv small dimensions. 



stem, 



and tapering, about 1^ inch long, and another 

 curious feature is that the narrow crests are 

 almost as long as the styles themselves. 



In some ways this Iris is an approach to I. 

 Purdyi, which, however, has a much shorter 



both absolutely and relatively to the 

 leaves, much broader and more inflated, bract- 

 like stem leaves, and much broader and more 

 substantial segmen ts. The only other species 



* I. tenuissima , sp nov., Apogon.— Caulispedalis.foliosus, 

 nionocephalus folns hnearibus subasqualis ; spathaa biflorse, 

 valvis ngidis, ovatis, acuminatis ; pedicellus ovario sub- 

 aequalis ; tubus ovario triplo longior ; segmenta omnia tenuis- 

 sima, acuminata ; stigmatum cristas stigmatibus *quilong<e. 



The plant always flowers in December, but w« 

 learn from Mr. Karthaus that his first seedlings 

 only flowered after having been in cultivation for 

 six years ; and even then bore only two flowers 

 on each spike. At present the best specimens 

 are producing five blossoms, of good size, on each 

 spray. 



Mr. Karthaus desires the plant to bear the 

 name of the late Mr. Emil Mosse, of Berlin, who 

 was a keen amateur and untiring cultivator of 

 garden Orchids. He was the publisher of the 

 last volume of Orchis, a publication now com- 

 bined with the Garten Zeitung. F. Kranzlin. 



