92 



CYPRIPEDIUM MASEREELIANUM 



Mossice, var. Warocqueana, is a distinct and lovely form, 

 with white petals and sepals delicately flushed with 

 rose, the lip having an orange-colored patch in the 

 throat and numerous veins of rosy-carmine in front. 



There are several other new orchids of considerable 

 beauty and interest which space will not permit of fully 

 describing, but the following may be briefly mentioned. 

 LissocJdhis giganteus is certainly a most marvellous 

 orchid, and one of the giants of the orchid family. In 

 its native state, the leaves attain to a length of eight 

 feet, the flower spike being twice as high ! It was 

 flowered in England in 1888, the flower-spike on one 

 plant being eight feet eight inches high. It grows on 

 the banks of the river Congo. Airides Augiislianuin is 

 a native of the Philippine Islands. It bears a raceme 

 of about thirty flowers, these being of a light rose, and 

 measuring a little over an inch across. It appears to 

 be allied to the charming A. Roehelenu. Odonioglossum 

 Wattianiim. — It is doubtful at present whether this 

 plant is a natural hybrid or a distinct species. It most 

 nearly resembles O. htteo-purpureiim, but also shows 

 affinity with O. Lindleyaniim . It flowered for the first 

 time last December, in Sander & Co. 's nursery. The 

 flowers are clear yellow, blotched with chestnut-brown, 

 and are decidedly handsome. Masdevallia Lotvii is a 

 distinct and pretty species with sepals an inch in 

 length, roughly pubescent, densely marbled and dotted 

 with maroon-purple, each one terminating in a slender 

 tail an inch long. Calanthe Veitchii alba is a hybrid the 

 typical form of which is well known as one of the most 

 useful of winter flowering plants. A perfectly pure 

 white form like the present is therefore a great acquisi- 

 tion. It was raised from the same parents as C. 

 Vc'i/ckti, viz., C. rosea and C. vcsliia. Odontoglossuvi 

 Himne^uellianiini is a new species imported from near 

 Bogota, in New Granada. It is named in honor of 

 an American horticulturist, the fame of whose gar- 

 den has reached this country. The outer divisions of 

 the flower are bright yellow, spotted with dark brown 

 and the lip is creamy white, marked with light cinna- 



mon colored spots. It is not plentiful as yet, but is 

 pretty enough to deserve wider cultivation. 



I have already noticed some of the more noteworthy 

 of the hybrid cypripediums that have recently flowered. 

 There remains a few others belonging to different gen- 

 era whose beauty and interest are so marked as to 

 entitle them to at least passing mention. Lcclia Dighy- 

 ana Mossia-. — This is one of the most notable of the 

 many triumphs that Messrs. Veitch have obtained in 

 this work. It is the progeny of Cattleya Mossice crossed 

 with Lcvlia Dighyana, and its value lies in its having 

 combined the beauty of the former with the remarkable 

 shape of the latter. The flower is six inches in diame- 

 ter and of a delicate rosy-lilac, the tip measuring three 

 inches across and showing to a great extent the fringed 

 margin of the male parent. Odontoglossitin Leroyaiiiiin. — 

 Although natural hybrids in this genus crop up in such 

 profusion as to be embarrassing to the botanist who has 

 to name and classify them, the present is the only arti- 

 ficial hybrid that has yet been obtained. It was raised 

 at Amandvilleirs, near Paris, and its parents are O. 

 crispinn and C. lii/t'o-pin-piireiiin, between which it is 

 fairly intermediate. 



Phahi'iiopsis Harrietce. (Fig. 3, p. gi.) This is un- 

 questionably the most beautiful of the three hybrid 

 phaljenopsis that have flowered up to the present. It 

 has recently been brought prominently into notice by a 

 colored plate in the Garden. This was made from 

 flowers sent to Kew, by Mr. E. Corning, of Albany, New 

 York, who possesses the plant. It was raised by Messrs . 

 Veitch from P. gi-andijlora and P. violacece, each of 

 which is certainly the finest species in that section of 

 the genus to which it belongs. The flowers are three 

 inches in diameter, and wax-like in texture, the parts 

 broad and over-lapping, creamy-white, splashed at the 

 base with amethyst-purple. The lip is bright rose-pur- 

 ple, except on the crest, which is orange-yellow. Some, 

 who saw the flowers sent by Mr, Corning, proclaim this 

 hybrid the finest of all phatenopsis. 



Kezv. W. J. Bean. 



CYPRIPEDIUM MASEREELIANUM. 



{See Frontispiece.) 



THIS must be considered the paragon cypri- 

 pedium with horticulturists. The easy 

 growth, free flowering of the plant, long 

 stem, large dorsal sepal of pure white, 

 and bright and distinct spotting makes it one of the 

 finest of all the cypripediums as yet raised by arti- 

 ficial means. The only thing to be regretted is 

 that the plant is very rare at present, but being 

 very free growing it will soon find its way into every 

 representative collection of orchids. 



The supposed parents of this grand hybrid are 

 C. insigiie, var. Chatitinii, and C. Spicej-iamtui, both 

 classed as the finest of the natural species. 



Leaves green and long, resembling those of C. 

 Spiccriamnn. Stem 12 to 15 inches long, dark, 

 slightly downy. Dorsal sepal very large, folded 

 back at its base, and forming an almost orbicular 

 top ; the base is of a rich green for about a quarter 

 of an inch, while the remainder of the flower is 

 pure white with rich purple spots in regular lines. 

 Lower sepal, pale green. Petals rather short, un- 

 dulted green with blackish spots. 



Lip large and light green with brown shading. 

 Staminode very light green with lilac tint. 



New Je?-sey. W. A. Manda. 



