JuLy, 1903.] THE ORCHID REVIEW. 197 
ODONTOGLOSSUM CRISPUM. 
Mr. Cookson raises an interesting but very difficult question (Gard. Chron., 
1903, i, p. 410) in enquiring :—‘‘ When is a crispum not a crispum?” He 
remarks :—‘‘ Being an amateur, without any botanical education, I have 
great respect for those whose botanical training and observation places 
them in the position of acting as our teachers and guides, and should be 
glad of a reply to the question at the head of this letter, if some expert 
will kindly enlighten me. We are told that pure crispums have undivided 
crests, which, in the case of supposed luteopurpureum natural hybrids, are 
divided. My trouble is that we have spotless, round, white-flowered 
crispums with divided, in fact, very palmated crests. We also have very 
spotted Odontoglossums (I dare not say whether crispums or Wilckeanums) 
with undivided crest; but to add to our troubles we have in spike a pure 
white, very round variety, some of the flowers having divided and some 
undivided crests! Is this last named acrispum or a Wilckeanum? or a 
‘Wilckeano-crispum’? To the simple minded amateur it is an undoubted 
crispum, of excellent form, but I feel absolutely certain that if I carefully 
cut off the crest and sent it to one of our authorities they would 
unhesitatingly call it a hybrid!” 
The question is an extremely difficult one to answer, because O. crispum 
in a wild state grows and hybridises with several other species, and hybrids 
are often erratic in the way they combine the characters of their parents. 
For example, the crests of typical O. crispum and typical O. 
luteopurpureum are widely different, and if the two species were crossed 
together it might be supposed that the crest of the hybrid would be just 
intermediate. But experience teaches us that such a hybrid might have 
the crest either three-fourths crispum or three-fourths luteopurpureum—I 
am not sure whether both conditions could not be found in a large batch of 
seedlings—and consequently it is not safe to form a judgment on a single 
character. 
Mr. Cookson’s query might be put in another way, namely :—‘* How 
much of the wide range of variation seen in the plant known in gardens as 
Odontoglossum crispum is due to polymorphism pure and simple, and how 
much to crossing with other species?” The question cannot at present 
be answered with confidence. Comparatively recent experiments have 
shown us what several hybrid Odontoglossums are like, but years before 
that, certain wild forms of intermediate character were recognised as 
natural hybrids. It was a matter of judgment, some said merely a pious 
opinion, but several such cases have now been proved by experiment. The 
answer to Mr. Cookson’s question is also largely a matter of judgment. 
We know that O. crispum grows in the Bogota district in company 
