THE ORCHID REVIEW. 13 
PAPHIOPEDIUM x RICHMANII. 
A flower of a particularly beautiful hybrid is sent from the collection of 
Sir Trevor Lawrence, Bart., Burford, Dorking, and one which has been 
already mentioned in these pages under the name of Cypripedium xX 
barbato-bellum. Mr. White remarks, “ it is the best shaped flower and the 
richest in colour which we have seen of this section,’ and in this we concur. 
The dorsal sepal is almost uniform deep claret-purple, the nerves being 
slightly darker, and a very narrow margin slightly paler. The lip is darker, 
and the petals paler, with only a very small green area close to the column, 
and the whole covered with mnumerable minute blackish purple dots. 
Now comes the question what it ought to be called. Charles Richman is 
the earliest name for this hybrid, but the rules of the Royal Horticultural 
Society Nomenclature Committee require that this should be modified into 
Richmanii. On the other hand, the Laws of Botanical Nomenclature 
adopted at Paris, provide that hybrids of known parentage should be named 
after their parents, the name of the pollen parent being placed first. 
This would give bellatulo-barbatum, but many horticulturists have modified 
the rule so as to place the seed parent first. This latter rule has proved 
unworkable except for primary hybrids, and therefore it seems preferable to 
adopt uniformly the Paris rule for hybrids of unknown parentage, namely, 
to give a specific name, together with a cross, which is the symbol of 
hybridity. It seems now to be agreed that the plant does not belong to 
Cypripedium proper, and these reasons are adduced in justification of the 
name above adopted. We think this surpasses even the one called William 
Lloyd in richness of colouring—certainly it surpasses the one figured at 
page 177 of our third volume; also a flower which we are fortunately able 
to compare with it in a living state. Those who have very dark forms of 
C. bellatulum and C. barbatum should make further experiments, 
