138 ORCHIDS FOR EVERYONE 



to the hybridist, and its distinctive characters are to be seen in its 

 progeny even to the second and third generation. The sepals are 

 red-brown, margined and tipped with golden yellow and with the 

 latter colour breaking up the former into large blotches. In the 

 petals there is a wonderful combination of yellow, brown, white, 

 and purple, while the large three-lobed lip is white, heavily veined 

 with purple at the base, where the golden yellow, fimbriated crest 

 is a conspicuous object. The front lobe sometimes changes from 

 white to pale yellow. 



O. HASTiLABiUM is an easily grown species, and one that 

 produces tall branching spikes of elegant flowers. It comes from 

 New Granada, where it was discovered by M. Linden in 1 843. 

 It first flowered in this country in 1846, at Syon House, Brent- 

 ford. About three inches in diameter, the blooms are made up 

 of almost equal sepals and petals, these being rather narrow, pale 

 greenish yellow, freely spotted and lightly barred with purple, 

 except at the tips. The base of the lip, and also the sharply con- 

 tracted central portion, are purple, but the broad apex is white, and 

 this is by far the most prominent part. Messrs Cypher Esf Sons, 

 of Cheltenham, frequently use this fine old species to great 

 advantage in their splendid groups of plants at the leading 

 Flower Shows. 



O. LUTEo-puRPUREUM is One of the most variable of all the 

 Odontoglossums, and in the earlier days of Orchid culture many 

 of its varietal forms were accorded specific rank, and this led to 

 a good deal of confusion. There is a wide difference between 

 one of the ordinary, dark-marked varieties and the charming 

 O. luteo-purpureum Vuylstekeanum with its two shades of 

 yellow instead of dark brown and yellow. And there is also 

 a great difference in the price, for Vuylsteke's variety is rare, 

 so that a specimen of it would cost ;!^2i, while a plant of equal 



