CYPRIPEDIUM CENANTHUM. 
[PLaTE 379.] 
Garden Hybrid. 
A dwarf, stemless, terrestrial herb, bearing distichous, or two-ranked leaves, which 
are ligulate, tridentate at the apex, leathery in texture, and dark green, faintly 
tesselated with lighter green. Peduncle erect, covered with a dense, short tomentum, 
and bearing upon the apex a solitary medium-sized flower of great beauty. Dorsal 
sepal broadly ovate, greenish white at the base, with green and violet-purple veins, 
the border and upper portion pure white, central portion profusely ornamented with 
spots and blotches of purple, which frequently becoming confluent take the form of 
lines of colour; lower sepal smaller, and less beautifully marked; petals slightly 
deflexed, port-wine colour, flushed with violet, towards the base the colour becomes 
paler, passing to a yellowish hue, where in addition there are numerous dark purplish 
blotches ; dip oblong, of a bright yet deep vinous purple. It is the result of a 
cross between C. Harrisianum (itself a hybrid) and C. insigne Maulei. 
CYPRIPEDIUM CNANTHUM, Jfteichenbach fil., Gardeners’ Chronicle, 1876, p. 297 ; 
Williams, Orchid-Grower’s Manual, 6 ed., p- 252. 
It affords us much pleasure in thus being able to bring before our subscribers 
the portrait of one of the most handsome of the numerous hybrid Cypripediums which 
the Messrs. Veitch have been fortunate enough to raise. This charming variety, 
obtained between C. Harrisianum and C. insigne Maulei, partakes of the character 
of the first-named plant in the tesselation of its foliage, but the leaves are much 
smaller, whilst its blossoms partake of the character of both parents. This plant 
has every good quality that can be desired ; indeed, were we confined to grow one 
form of Cypripedium only, it occurs to us that this is the variety we should select 
on account of its free habit of growth and its profuse-blooming qualities, the 
blossoms being extremely bright and cheerful. More especially is this so in the 
variety superbum, and we cannot too strongly urge upon every lover of Orchids 
the necessity of adding it to their collections. These two plants were both raised 
by Mr. Seden, who is now so well and widely known as the successor to the 
veteran Dominy, as the hybridiser of Orchids for the Messrs. Veitch & Sons, of 
Chelsea. In this work Mr. Seden bestows much care and attention in the selection 
of the species and varieties which he shall use for his interesting work, and hence 
he is rewarded with such splendid results, which go to prove that the parents 
should not be taken at random. The drawing was taken from a plant that 
flowered during the autumn of last year in our own collection in the Victoria and 
Paradise Nurseries. 
