140 ORCHIDS FOR EVERYONE 



can be well grown in pots or pans suspended from the rafters, and 

 will thus not take up much room. It is a Mexican species, dis- 

 covered by the collector whose name it bears, and it was introduced 

 in 1837. It varies somewhat, but many of the so-called varietal 

 forms described in the older works on Orchids have since proved 

 to be natural hybrids. When in growth only, O. Rossii is but 

 a few inches high, and its flower spikes rarely rise above eight or 

 nine inches. There is no mistaking O. Rossii when once it has 

 been seen, for in no other species is there so great a contrast 

 between the sepals and the petals. The former are rather narrow, 

 and so heavily spotted and blotched with brown, that the whitish 

 or rose coloured ground is almost obliterated. The petals are much 

 broader, white or rose, and with a few brown or purple-brown 

 spots quite at the base. The lip varies in shape, but in the best 

 varieties this segment is broadly heart-shaped, while the colour 

 is white or rose. So charming an Orchid as this is worth a little 

 extra attention, and this it needs, for, like some other Mexican 

 species, it succeeds best when suspended near the roof-glass and 

 wintered in a temperature a few degrees higher than is provided 

 for O. crispum. O. Rossii rubenS is a very distinct variety. 



O. TRiUMPHANS was discovered by M. Linden in New Granada; 

 it has showy, golden yellow flowers, three inches across, marked 

 with light brown. Mr de Barri Crawshay, of Sevenoaks, has 

 some especially fine varieties with broad petalled flowers, notably 

 O. T. Lionel Crawshay, O. t. Raymond Crawshay, and O. T. 

 rosefield variety. 



Other Good Species 



Odontoglossums of lesser value than the foregoing might be 

 named by dozens, and probably in a few instances they may be 

 preferred to those here considered more important. It is impossible 

 to select a given number of species and find the set approved by 



