THE ORCHID REVIEW. 215 
ORCHIDS AT KEW, 
SEVERAL striking rarities have recently flowered in the rich Kew collection. 
At the present time one of the finest is an example of the very rare Cymbid- 
ium Huttoni bearing a splendid spike of seventeen flowers, besides which 
the old Vanda Roxburghii is flowering well. Earlier in the season the hand- 
some Moorea irrorata and Eulophiella Elisabethz were in fine condition. 
A plant of Oncidium altissimum has produced two fine arching spikes of 
about six and eight feet long, perfectly wreathed with flowers. Eulophia 
Lubbersiana has prettily variegated leaves, and is an example of the 
numerous ‘botanical species in flower. The new Orchid-houses seem to 
have fully justified the expectations formed of them, and the presence of so 
many botanical rarieties renders the collection exceptionally interesting. 
DICTIONNAIRE ICONOGRAPHIQUE DES ORCHIDEES. 
THE May number of this interesting and useful little work has just reached 
us, and contains figures and descriptions of the following Orchids :—Calanthe 
vestita var. Stevensiana, Cattleya Eldorado var. Wallisii, C. x Hardyana 
var. alba, Cypripedium Swinburnei, Dendrobium barbatulum, D. Pierardi, 
Lelia flava var. aurantiaca, L. rubescens, Odontoglossum x crispo- Harry- 
anum vars. amcenum and spectabile, O. x tentaculatum, Rodriguezia decora, 
Selenipedium caudatum var. Wallisii, and Vanda ccerulescens. 
FALSE HYBRIDS. 
A coop deal of attention has recently been paid to what have been called 
false hybrids, namely plants which seem to only reproduce the characters of 
one of the parents. We have just found what appears to be an early 
example of this phenomenon in the genus Calanthe :— 
“IT was much pleased to hear of Messrs. Veitch’s new C. Sedeni, and 
congratulate them on their success. I myself four years ago fertilised a 
bloom of the C. Veitchii superba sent with C. vestita lutea and seed was 
produced, which I in good time sowed, and raised a number of seedlings. I 
looked to getting at least something distinct, and now, after waiting just 
four years since the cross was effected, three of the bulbs flower, and the 
results are the blooms sent. The strange thing is that C. Veitchii should 
produce the seed and the yellow and rose varieties of C. vestita should have 
been produced.—W. Swan in Gard. Chron., 1878, x., p. 795.” 
It is difficult now to say what was the cause of the phenomena described, 
but as the seed parent was the C. x Veitchii the offspring ought to have 
been hybrids. Probably the plants were long ago lost sight of. 
