42 THE ORCHID REVIEW. 



and the broad white margin is a zone which is densely spotted with light 

 purple. The petals are light green at the base, spotted on the nerves with 

 purple brown, which latter colour from the middle to the apex becomes 

 lighter and more suffused, while the gracefully undulate margin is light 

 green. The lip is light brown in front, and the staminode yellowish white 

 with some green veining and minute brown hairs. All the other characters 

 are well shown in the photograph. It should, however, be added that the 

 spots on the dorsal sepal are more copious than shown in the photograph, 

 which is due to the fact that light shades of purple come out nearly white, 

 owing to their high actinic property. The white area on the front of the 

 lip, and base of the dorsal sepal, is due to reflected light from the polished 

 surface. It has been figured in the Dutionnaire Iconographique des Orchidees 

 as Cypripedium X Minos var. Youngii. The original form was raised by 

 Messrs. Veitch, and flowered in 1N9.5, when it received an Award of Merit, 

 and we must congratulate Mr. Young on having obtained such an im- 

 proved form. It is highly prized by Mr. Young and Captain Law- 

 Schofield, and has been greatly admired by others who have seen it. 



SIKKIM DENDROBIUMS. 



In the preface to The Orchids of the Sikkim Himalaya, when speaking of the 

 rule made only to include drawings of species of which living plants had 

 been observed, Sir George King remarked: — "Several species which have 

 large, handsome flowers (e.g., Dendrobium pnmulinum, D. crystallinum, and 

 D. Dalhousianum) recorded in the Flora of British India as occurring in 

 Sikkim are believed now (probably on account of the extensive clearings for 

 cultivation made within recent years) to be extinct. Such species have 

 also been omitted from the book." It now appears that the reported 

 occurrence of all three species in Sikkim is due to misidentification. When 

 Lindley described D. primulirium (Gard. Chron., 1858, p. 400) he remarked : — 

 " A good many plants have been introduced fiom India, probably from Sik- 

 kim, for we find it among Dr. Hooker's dried plants gathered in the hot valleys 

 of that country." This specimen, with some others from the same locality 

 was referred by Sir J. D. Hooker to the Burmese D. crystallinum, Rchb. f., 

 but on analysis I find that they belong to D. Pierardi, Roxb., a widely- 

 diffused and variable plant, so that both D. primulinum and D. crystallinum 

 have to be excluded. In a similar way the supposed Sikkim piece of D. 

 Dalhousianum, Wall., proves to be D, Hookerianum, Lindl, a well-known 

 Sikkim plant. The fringed lip was only apparent after the flower had been 

 soaked and spread out. It is satisfactory to find that their absence is not 

 due to the cause assigned in the above note. 



R. A. Rolfe. 



