HYBRIDISATION. 



93 



Undoubted natural hybrids have also appeared among importations of 

 Lycaste, Cattleya and Lrelia, and even hybrids between Cattleya and 

 Laelia, an admonition by Nature herself against placing too much stress 

 upon any single character for separating genera in the Orchidb^.* 

 Bigeneric hybrids have been obtained artificially by fertilising a 

 species of one genus with the pollen of a species of another. The 

 first bigeneric hybrid so obtained vras raised by Dominy from Phaius 

 grandifolius fertilised with the pollen of a variety of Galanthe vestita. 

 Seden obtained a progeny many years afterwards from the first-named 

 species fertihsed with the pollen of another variety of Galanthe vestita, 

 which on flowering proved to be structurally identical with Dominy's 

 hybrid. Phaius grandifolius has also been crossed with Galanthe x Veitchii 

 by several operators with more fertile results than the previous crosses; 

 and lastly it has been crossed with Galanthe Masuca, from which a 

 single plant only was raised. By these crosses a group of Phaio- 

 calanthes has been brought into existence. Dominy also raised three 

 distinct hybrids from Ilcemaria discolor crossed with an Anoectochilus, 

 a Dossinia and a Macodes ; the resulting progenies were called 

 respectively Anoedochilus Dominii, G-oodyera Doininii and G. Veitchit,. 

 which would be regarded as a very curious nomenclature were it not 

 that Hcemaria discolor has been for many years cultivated under the 

 name of Goodyera discolor, and both the Dossinia and the Macodes 

 were, in Dominy's time, cultivated as Anoectochili. These hybrids 

 are probably now lost, but the fact of their former existence is 

 suggestive of a doubt whether the characters relied on to separate 

 the genera from which they were derived are of sufficient value to 

 justify the retention of all of them, f 



Progenies have also been obtained from Gattleya intermedia, 0. 

 Loddlgesil and Loilia elegans, each crossed with Sophronitis grandifiora, 

 whence has originated a series of Sophrocattleyas. It is worthy of 

 remark that in these three cases all the species concerned are natives 

 of a comparatively small geographical area in southern Brazil ; but 

 another bigeneric hybrid in which the Sophronitis participated had 



* Thus Lcclia elegans supposed to have beeu derived from Lcdia inirpurata aiid CattUya 

 f/uttata, and L. ScMlleriana from L. purpurata aud 0. intermedia, have been imported in 

 considerable numbers. L. amanda aud L. porphyritis are rare forms witli une(iual pollinia 

 and are doubtless of hybrid origin with a Cattleya and Laelia for parents in each case, and quite 

 recently two other such natural hybrids (L. Gottiava and L. alhanensis) have been imported 

 from Bahia. 



t Ano'ctochilus, an Indo-Malayan genus of aljout eight species, is connected with the 

 Goodyeras of Europe and North America by a series of genera, all more or less remarkable for 

 their beautiful foliage. Of these llerpysiua, Dossinia, Macodes and Hylophila are nionotypic. 



