NOTES 



Cattle VA Lady Rowena. — This is 

 undoubtedly the finest white Cattleya yet 

 seen, the flower being of immense size and 

 extremely thick textured. It has been raised 

 from C. Warneri alba and C. Suzanne Hye 

 de Crom (Gaskelliana x Mossiae), a pure white 

 variety of the latter of course being" used. 

 The plant is in the collection of Baron Bruno 

 Schroder, The Dell, Englefield Green, and 

 has just produced a spike of two flowers, the 

 only trace of colour being seen in the throat, 

 which is greenish-yellow. 



U U U 



Dendrobium Wellesley. — Mr. Walter 

 Hunnewell, of Wellesley, Mass., U.S.A., 

 kindly sends the following particulars of this 

 Dendrobium hybrid, of which the parents are 

 murrhiniacum (nobile x Wardianum) and 

 nobilc " Victoria Regina." The cross was 

 made April 28th, 1905, the seed sown 

 June 1 2th, igo6, and the first plant flowered 

 Feb. 14th, 191 1. The plants possess a robust 

 constitution, the bulbs being about 3 feet 

 in height and carrying large flowers, after the 

 style of Wardianum. A good example was 

 exhibited by Mr. Hunnewell at the recent 

 Boston Spring Flower Show. 



^ ^ 



Brides Vandarum. — This Indian 

 species, which is but rarely seen in collections, 

 has flowered well this season in the collection 

 of Dr. Stead, of Hawkhurst, Kent. In its 

 habit of growth it resembles the better known 

 Vanda teres, although the cylindrical leaves 

 are much more slender. The semi-transparent 



flowers, ]iroduced in pairs from the side of 

 the stem opposite the leaves, are pure white, 

 the column often showing" a slight pink tinge. 

 \\'hcn well cultivated it forms a beautiful 

 object, the flowers being of interesting 

 construction. 



ii w 



Abnormal Cypripedium. — Mr. F. 

 Menteith Ogilvie, of The Shrubbery, Oxford, 

 kindly brings to our notice an interesting 

 abnormal flower of Cypripedium gigas, which 

 differs from the type by having an additional 

 dorsal sepal. The appearance of an 

 additional segment may generally be traced 

 to one of two causes. The first includes those 

 instances in which organs apparently entire 

 are split, or disunited, examples being 

 occasionally seen in the separation of the two 

 ventral sepals in Cypripediums, which under 

 normal conditions are united. This trimerous 

 condition of the outer whorl of the perianth 

 is undoubtedly that which existed in the early 

 history of the species, consequently what is 

 apparently an extra segment is in this case 

 nothing more than an insight into the plant's 

 real character. The second cause is over- 

 development, due to excessive cultivation, and 

 resulting in true multiplication of the parts 

 by the formation of entirely fresh seg"ment.s. 

 Under this latter section may be placed Mr. 

 Ogilvie's specimen, for both dorsal sepals are 

 furnished with a complete apical portion, 

 there being no evidence of splitting. Although 

 the formation of an extra dorsal sepal does 

 not often occur, there is one Cypripedium, viz., 

 Hera " New Hall Hey variety," which has a 

 marked tendency to deviate in this style from 

 the normal condition. 



VOL. V. 



25 



