266 



THE ORCHID WORLD. 



[September, 1914- 



S. Schlimii was a very rare plant m British 

 gardens, and horticulturists took advantage 

 of its self-fertilising power to raise young 

 plants from seed. The excessive fertility of 

 .S. Schlimii is not only seen m the production 

 of seed capsules without the intervention of 

 any external help, but the species has also 

 proved to be one of the most potent of 

 hybridising agents. — Veitch's " Manual of 

 Orchidaceous Plants." 



Odoniioda Cooksonia Fowler's variety. 



OuONTIODA COOKSONL^:. — This elegant 

 hybrid is the result of crossing Cochlioda 

 Ncezliana with Odontoglossum ardentissimum. 

 The illustration shows a fine variety of the 

 same in Mr. J. Gurney Fowler's collection. 

 It was awarded a First-class CertiRcate, Royal 

 Horticultural Society, June i8th, 191 2, the 

 colour being solid red, very brilliant, with a 

 rose margin to the segments, and the apex 

 of the hp white. 



IS U U 



"The Orchid Review." — The principal 

 article in the August number of this journal 

 is on Herbaria and their use. Interesting 

 notes are given of Stanhopea guttulata and 

 Cypripedium philippinense, the latter being 

 accompanied with a photographic illustration. 



Pollination of Thelymitra longi- 

 FOLIA. — In an interesting book entitled 

 " Plants of New Zealand," by Messrs. R. M. 

 Lamg and E. W. Blackwell, occurs the 

 following note on the very puzzling case of 

 the pollination of Thelymitra longifolia, one 

 of the commonest of New Zealand Orchids : 

 " In the North Island it is eilmost everywhere 

 abundant except in the dense bush. In the 

 South Island it is hardly less common. 

 According to Mr. Cheeseman ' the flowers 

 usually open about nine o'clock in the 

 morning, neatly re-closing about four or five 

 in the afternoon. There is, however, con- 

 siderable irregularity as to this, some varieties 

 only opening for a short time in the middle 

 of the day, others remaining expanded for 

 .1 much longer period.' On the other hand, 

 m the South Island, it is rare to find an 

 open flower. Even in fine weather not more 

 than a few per cent, of the flowers open 

 properly. The chief reason why flowers do 

 not open in wet weather is that rain destroys 

 iheir pollen ; many of them therefore close 

 in rain or adopt ingenious contrivances for 

 keeping their pollen dry. Now, Mr. Cheese- 

 man has observed that rain reduces the pollen 

 of this plant to a pulpy mass. This is 

 perhaps the primary reason for its closing. 

 One would consequently expect to find it 

 more frequently opened in the drier climate 

 of Australia than in New Zealand. However, 

 observations seem to show the reverse to be 

 true. Though the plant is well adapted for 

 cross-pollination, insects rarely visit it. Mr. 

 Cheeseman states : ' For the last seven years 

 I have made it a practice to watch beds of 

 this Orchid, and save on two occasions I 

 have never seen winged insects enter the 

 flower, and in both these cases the pollinia 

 were removed.' Out of 218 flowers 

 examined, only seven had lost their pollinia. 

 Thus it would appear that the plant is 

 occasionally, though very rarely, cross- 

 pollinated. On the other hand, as the species 

 is a predominant one, it must obviously be 

 largely self-fertilised and often cleistogamic, 

 thus apparently forming an exception to the 

 general rule that it is a disadvantage to a 

 flower to be self-pollinated." 



