CATTLEYAS 



Cattleyas take first rank among garden Orchids, and they 

 •owe this position to their usually large and richly-coloured 

 flowers, not one of the many species and varieties known 

 being unattractive. By far the handsomest of them are all 

 those which constitute the Labiata section, of which that shown 

 in the plate is a type. In this section there are varieties with 

 pure white, rose-tinted, purple, or nankeen -yellow flowers, 

 the lip in every case being blotched or veined with some more 

 pronounced colour. They vary in their season of flowering, 

 the true Labiata, often called Vera, flowering in autumn. 

 The variety Mossice, forms of which have flowers eight 

 inches across, beautifully coloured, blooms in May or June. 

 The species have been intercrossed freely by breeders, and 

 there are now many beautiful hybrids which, judged by their 

 commercial value, are greatly superior to their parents. There 

 are also many hybrids between Cattleyas and the closely- 

 related Laelias. 



