iMASDEVALLIA. 73 



Long, however, before Masdeuallia spleiidida liad been produced 

 artificially, hybridisation among the most showy species had been 

 taken in hand by Seden in our nursery, but with only partial 

 success, caused probably by the fact that Masdevallia, as a genus, 

 is far more heterogenous than was at first supposed^ whence a 

 mixture of the different sections may not possibly be effected, and 

 more recently progenies have been obtained by other operators. 

 The forms described below include all the undoubted hybrids of 

 which we have cognisance up to the present time, and which 

 naturally fall under two heads, viz., Natural and Garden Hybrids : 

 all have been derived from species included in the Goccinece and 

 Gandatce sub-sections, or from crosses between species belonging to 

 each of them, the only exceptions at present known being M. 

 glapliijrantha and M. Elnclisiana, in which cases a species from the 

 Polyanthce group was selected for one of the parents. Their vege- 

 tative organs present scarcely any character by which they may 

 be distinguished from either parent but the ffowers, which are 

 intermediate, are distinct, and these only need description. 



Natural Hybrids. 

 Masdevallia splendida. 



Perianth tube slender, nearly an inch long, with a prominent rib above, 

 pale orange-red ; free portion of sepals oval-oblong, three-nerved, bright 

 orange-red studded with crimson-purple papillae; tails an inch long, orange- 

 red ; petals, lip and column white, the latter with a purple streak on 

 each side of the stigmatic cavity. 



Masdevallia splendida, Rclib. in Gard. Chron. IX. (1878), p. 493. 



var. — Parlatoreana. 



Flowers larger, with the })urple papill£e differently distrilaited uver 

 the surface of the sepals. 



M. splendida Parlatoreana, supra. M. Parlatoreana, Echb. in Gard. Chron. XI. 

 (1879), p. 172. 



Both forms were gathered on the eastern Cordillera of Peru, near Cuzcoi 

 by "Walter Davis, Avho sent them to us in a consignment of MasderaUia 

 Vpitcldana and M. Barhcana, with which they were mixed. The variety 

 which is the mure attractive of the two forms was tledicaled to Professoi' 

 Parlatore, of Florence, the most distinguished Italian botanist of his 

 time. The artificially-raised hybrid surpasses the wild ones both in size 

 of flower and in the brilliancy of its colours, a circumstance due to 

 the finest forms of M. Veitrldana and M. Barhvaiia being selected 

 for parents. 



