THE MOST USEFUL ORCHIDS 103 



flowers, like broad, flattened Epidendrums, each with a prominent 

 yellow blotch on the lip. It grows with the utmost freedom at 

 the cool end of the intermediate house, and can be propagated by 

 division with great ease. The parents are Sophronitis grandiflora 

 and Epidendrum radicans. The second hybrid is Epiphronitis 

 Orpeti, of American origin, and derived from Epidendrum 

 G' Brienianum and Sophronitis violacea. 



LiELIA 



The Lselias are a fairly large family of, for the most part, 

 very effective, beautiful, and useful Orchids. In some instances it 

 is difficult to distinguish a Lselia from a Cattleya in outward appear- 

 ance, but as a rule the Laelias have not such large flowers as 

 Cattleyas, and the flowers have narrower segments. Botanically 

 the difference is also very slight, and consists in the Lselias having 

 eight pollinia instead of four as in Cattleya. Lselias intercross 

 readily with Cattleyas, and the hybrids, known as Lxlio-Cattleyas, 

 form a splendid group of very beautiful plants. The two families 

 are found in Brazil, Mexico, and Guatemala, and with the excep- 

 tion of the Mexican group the Laelias thrive under the conditions 

 found most suitable for the majority of Cattleyas. 



The Mexican Laelias form a group differing in habit and 

 requirements from the rest of the family. Most of these have 

 thick, short, compressed pseudo-bulbs, and long, slender spikes 

 bearing the flowers near the apex. 



Best Species 



L. ANCEPS is a beautiful winter-flowering Mexican species 

 first introduced in 1835 by the Messrs Loddiges of Hackney. It 

 is very variable in the colour of its flowers, but in every case the 



