June 27, 1888.] 



Garden and Forest. 



209 



The first Hybrid Epidendrum that is known to have 

 been raised and flowered under cultivation was shown by 

 Messrs. Veitch last Tuesday. It is named E. O' Brieniaiiutn, 

 after the well-known orchidist, Mr. James O'Brien. This 

 is a cross between the orange-scarlet flowered E. radicans 

 (also known as E. rhizophorum^ and the pink E. eveclum. 

 The hybrid shows the features of both parents in its 

 flowers, both in form and color, the latter being- of a 

 kind of magenta-purple, just the tint, in fact, you would 

 get b}'- mixing vermilion-orange and crimson-lake on a 

 palette. This cross, though not remarkable from the 

 standpoint of beauty, is looked upon as important, as it 

 may lead to really valuable results in the large genus 

 Epidendnmi. Two other hybrids were shown by Messrs. 

 Veitch, one of which was said to be a cross between 

 Anguloa Ruckeri and A. Clmvesii. The flowers of the hy- 

 brid are like those of A. eburnea, being white, copiously 

 freckled with pale red. One would have thought that the 

 yellow of one and the blood-red of the other flower 

 would have produced a cross quite different from the one 



species, this plant (See Fig. 38, page 211), when grown, 

 has no produced leaves, the stem leaves being all short, 

 and the lowermost tipped with long, rigid, thread-like ap- 

 pendages which are cruelly barbed. The flower-bracts 

 are not conspicuous, but the flowers, which are com- 

 paratively large, are of a light red color, ar,d droop grace- 

 fully upon the slender pedicels. ii". W. 



Plant Notes. 



Iris Korolkowi. 



THLS is a beautiful new Iris, original in form and out- 

 line, showy and strange in colors. It was discov- 

 ered and imported from Turkestan some twelve years 

 ago and is one of the hardiest of its race. The flowers 

 appear in May, and with the type and one variety, the 

 ground color of falls and standards is a peculiar grayish- 

 white, beautifully netted with olive and coffee-brown 

 streaks ; in some other varieties the ground color has a 



M.iiu Struct, Kiuj^stun, Rliode Island.- 



shown, which was named A. inien/wdia. Another hybrid 

 Orchid was a cross between DendrohiuiiL Dalliousieanum 

 and D. Hiittoiiii. Here again the result is disappointing, 

 though one could trace the feature of both parents in the 

 flowers of the new comer, which is oppressed with the un- 

 pronounceable name of D. porphyrogastnim. It is obvi- 

 ously premature to speak of the merits of hybrid Orchids 

 the first season of flowering. 



London, May 24th. W. Goldring. 



New or Little Known Plants. 



Pitcairnia Palmeri.* 



THIS is one of the smallest species of the genus, and 

 was discovered with the one previously figured, by 

 Dr. E. Palmer, growing abundantly in the crevices of rocks 

 in the mountains of Jalisco, Mexico. Unlike the former 



*P. Palmeri, Watson, Proc. Am. Acad.. .\.\-ii. 456. Acaulesccnt, somewhat 

 fur£uraceousthrou;4hout, tiie basal bracts ending in barbed, filiform appendages ; 

 leaves of sterile shoots very narrowly linear, entire, sparsely villous; those of the 

 flowering; stem bract-like and very narrowly attenuate ; floral bracts, narrow, 

 shorter than the refle.xed pedicels; petals, light red. I'j inches long, three times 

 longer than the narrow, acuminate sepals; stamens and style included. 



flush of purple and in one variety it is deep purple ; the 

 netting of all these is simply deeper in color. It takes to 

 any soil, but prefers a loamy one. It enjoys a long, hard 

 winter and a bright spring. Max Lciclitlin. 



Baden-Baden. 



Calypso borealis. — The flowering season of this little Orchid 

 is just over, and those who have had the pleasure of seeing 

 it in its native habitat may consider themselves fortunate. The 

 peculiar shape of its flower, the variety of delicate colors — 

 pink, purple and white — and the single dark green leaf, make 

 it a favorite among lovei's of wild flowers, but to fully ap- 

 preciate it, one must gather it in its natural home. It usually 

 grows in dark cedar swamps among the largest and oldest 

 Arbor Vitag trees. Like Aplectriiin hyeinalc and Tipularia 

 discolor, it sends up its leaf and flower-bud in autumn, and in 

 spring it is ready to start into growth as soon as the snow and 

 frost disappear. Its height is usually three to five inclies. After 

 flowering it dies down to the bulb and remains in this state 

 until late in autumn. The bulb is quite small and the leaf so 

 inconspicuous, that it is difficult to find the pkmt except when 

 in flower. Coming so early in the season and being such a 

 rare species, it is seen by only a few. In sonn^ portions of 

 northern Vermont it is much more abundant than, in the mid- 



