THE ORCHID REVIEW. 
A‘) oe. Og SEPTEMBER, 1907. [No. 177. 
DIES ORCHIDIANI. 
Most of the “surprises” of late years among Orchids have been due to the 
efforts of the hybridist, but there have been a few exceptions, and one of 
these is the glorious new Dendrobium regium, which appeared at the 
Royal Horticultural Society’s meeting on August 6th last from two 
different collections, a First-class Certificate being awarded in each 
case. ‘‘New” is perhaps not the exact word, for the species was 
described about five years ago, and two years later a single plant 
flowered at Kew, and was figured in the Botanical Magazine (t. 8003), 
though little further was known about it. Now, however, an importation 
of it has been secured, and the species is likely to become generally 
dispersed. Out of bloom it bears a considerable resemblance to D. nobile, 
but the flowers are larger, and very different in colour, while the fact that 
they appear in summer probably indicates the necesssity for somewhat 
different cultural treatment. This, however, remains to be proved. As 
regards shape, the flowers may be compared with the very best forms of 
D. nobile, but they are larger and the petals are broader, while the absence 
of a maroon disc gives them a very different appearance. The colour is 
brilliant rose-purple with a lemon-yellow throat to the lip, becoming paler 
at the margin, where it merges into the other colour. The flowers are 
borne in axillary fascicles as in D. nobile. I hope it will: prove amenable 
to cultivation, for it is a glorious thing and superior to anything which 
has appeared for a long time. It should be much sought after for 
hybridisation purposes, though its season of flowering may limit its use- 
fulness in this respect. The appearance of occasional flowers out of season, 
however, may afford opportunities for unexpected crosses, and in any case 
our gardens have secured another Dendrobium of remarkably handsome 
character. 
Hybridisation among Orchids continues to progress with rapid strides. 
Scarcely a meeting of the R.H.S. is held without the appearance of some 
novelty, and some of them pass almost unnoticed which a few years ago 
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