THE ORCHID REVIEW. 



CHONDROBOLLEA x FRCEBELIANA. 

 In June, 1901, a flower of a very curious Orchid was sent to Kew for 

 determination, through Mr. J. O'Brien, by M. Otto Frcebel, of Zurich, 

 with the suggestion that it might be a natural hybrid between Bollea 

 coelestis and Chondrorhyncha Chestertoni. It had been produced by a 

 plant introduced by Mr. F. C. Lehmann, in the summer of 1898, with 

 other examples of the last-named Orchid, but had not previously bloomed. 

 The flower had the crest of the lip as in Bollea coelestis, but the column 

 only half as broad, and the segments much narrower and quite different 

 in colour, being yellowish white, tinged with lilac-purple ; the front of the 

 lip purple, the crest yellow with about thirteen to fifteen keels ; and the 

 column lilac, with a yellow area at the base spotted with brown. There 

 was no trace of the remarkable fringed lip of the Chondrorhyncha, and 

 I at first suggested that it seemed intermediate between Bollea and some 

 species of Warscewiczella, and asked what other plants came home in the 

 same importation. A week later M. Froebel sent a second flower, much 

 darker in colour, and remarked : — " The plant looks like Chondrorhyncha ; 

 the leaves are similar, and I was exceedingly astonished at seeing a flower 

 which I had never seen before. I do not know if other plants will prove 

 the same, but many of the plants introduced in 1898 have not yet flowered ; 

 for instance many introduced plants of Bollea coelestis." Further com- 

 parison seemed to confirm the suggestion that it was a hybrid between the 

 species of Bollea and Chondrorhyncha named, for the much attenuated 

 sepals and petals were more like the latter than Warscewiczella, and other 

 characters were in agreement with what was known of the history of the plant. 

 There remained a slight doubt, however, and the above name was not 

 placed on record, in the hope that further materials would clear the 



A year later Mr. J. O'Brien drew attention to the plant (Gard. Chron., 

 1902, xxxii, p. 150), as follows : — " A very singular supposed natural hybrid 

 between Bollea ccelestis and Chondrorhyncha Chestertoni, a totally 

 different species with yellow flowers and fringed labellum. The hybrid 

 seems to show traces of both the reputed parents, and is intermediate in 

 colour, its livid blue showing traces of yellow in parts." M. Cogniaux now 

 describes it under the name of Bolleo-Chondrorhyncha X Frcebeliana 

 {Gard. Chron., 1902, xxxii, p. 243 ; Chron. Orch., p. 363). 



With the preceding, M. Frcebel sent another singular plant, which he 

 suggested might be a natural hybrid between Bollea coelestis and Pescatorea 

 Klabochorum. A plant with this parentage has already appeared, and was 

 named Pescatorea X bella by Reichenbach, though the name Pescato- 

 bollea X bella, now proposed for it, is more in consonance with its 



