﻿March, i 9 o 4 .] 



THE ORCHID REVIEW. 



So far as the above description goes the plant now sent agrees in every 

 particular, and I have no doubt that it is correct, but it is no wonder that 

 its identity has been in doubt. In addition to its rarity, and the total 

 absence of a clue to its habitat, we have suggestions of parentage that are 

 absolutely impossible, for O. Hallii is a native of Ecuador, while O. 

 tripudians and O. luteopurpureum come from several hundred miles further 

 north in Columbia. I cannot trace any resemblance to O. Hallii, and an 

 Ecuadorean habitat is evidently out of the question. Then there is no 

 reference to its size, and no one reading the above remarks would expect to 

 find a small flower scarcely z\ inches in expanse from tip to tip of the petals, 

 as is the one now sent : yet the plant is strong and healthy, and bears an 

 inflorescence of ten flowers. The best comparison I can make is with a 

 small form of O. sceptrum, and I believe that I have previously passed it 

 over as such, but the specimen is not available for comparison at the present 

 moment. Apart from size, however, it is a most elegant little plant, and 

 quite justifies the eulogies uttered by Reichenbach respecting it. But there 

 still remains the question as to what it really is, and here I feel a difficulty 

 I cannot see what combination of species would produce such a hybrid, and 

 have a suspicion that it may be a local form most allied to O. sceptrum. 

 The latter, crossed with O. Hunnewellianum, should produce a hybrid 

 much like this in size and colour, but there is no trace of the entire column 

 wings of the latter, and the shape of the segments would probably have 

 been broader and rounder. Perhaps when the plant is again imported, and 

 something is known about its habitat, and the species, if any, with which 

 it grows, it may be possible to form some better idea as to its precise 



R. A. Rolfe. 



Ada aurantiaca. — This Orchid may be grown in any cool, moist house. 

 The bright orange-coloured blossoms are greatly admired during the month, 

 and contrast strikingly with the other occupants in the Cool house. It is 

 a colour infrequently met with amongst Orchids, which fact increases its 

 value, and makes it worthy of a place in every collection. When well 

 grown it amply rewards attention bestowed upon it by a wealth of its 

 telling flowers. The cultural details are simple in character — one to be 

 observed is that it resents annual disturbance, and for this reason the 

 potting should be done with thoroughness, clean pots, equally clean 

 drainage, and enough space being allowed for root development to last the 

 plants at least two seasons. When well established, water freely all the 

 year round, and place in a position where a moist atmosphere can be 

 maintained.— W. F. Gooch, in Journal of Horticulture. 



