168 



PAXTON'S FLOWER GARDEN. 



0. planilabre (Plurituberculata) ; pseudobulbis ancipitibus tenuibus costatis, foliis ensatis recurvantibus racemo 

 brevioribus, racemo simpliei, sepalis petalisq. lanceolatis unguiculatis undulatis subcequalibus, labelli laciniis lateralibus 

 oblongis parvis intermedia semicirculari plana emarginata, crista rhomboidea euspidata margine erosit verrucis 2 inasqua- 

 libus utrinque versus cuspidem, dente forti obtuso faciei columnse adnato, columnse brevibus carnosis inflexis. 



This plant has the foliage of O.flexuosum, and flowers much like those of (X Suttoni. The pseudo-bulbs are thin, sharp 

 edged, and ribbed at the side. The leaves are sword-shaped, lorate, recurved, and shorter than the raceme. The raceme 

 is long and narrow like that of the Sutton Oncid (0. Suttoni), and the flowers are as nearly as possible of the same 

 colour ; that is to say, the sepals and petals are dull brown tipped with yellow, and the lip is clear yellow stained with 

 cinnamon brown at the base. The sepals and petals are nearly of the same size and form, rhomboid-lanceolate, 

 acuminate, wavy, very distinctly stalked. The lip is three-lobed, with the side lobes nearly as wide as that in the centre, 

 which is slightly stalked, nearly hemispherical, emarginate, and perfectly flat. The crest consists of a broad lozenge- 

 shaped rugged-edged cuspidate process, beneath which, near the point, on either side, are two small unequal tubercles ; 

 in addition to which there is a stout blunt tooth which rises in front of the column, forming part of it. The wings of the 

 column are roundish, dwarf, and incurved. There is no published Brazilian species with which this can be usefully 

 compared. From the Sutton Oncid and similar Mexican forms it differs in the form of the crest, and especially in the 

 strong tooth already mentioned as standing in front of the column. It is rather a pretty species, of the third class in 

 point of personal appearance. — Journal of Hort. Soc, vol. vi. 



Daphne Houtteana. (alias Daphne Mezereum, foliis atropurpureis of Gardens?) A 

 hardy evergreen bush, with vernal purple flowers. Belongs to Daphnads. Origin unknown. 



That this plant is not a Mezei'eum is evident ; in Mezereum the flowers precede the leaves ; but here they appear 

 simultaneously. In Mezereum the leaves are obovate-Ianceolate, gradually extended into a wedge-shaped base, thin, glaucous 

 beneath, downy in the bud, fringed at the edges when full grown ; in this plant the leaves are lanceolate, taper-pointed, 

 half leathery, with no trace of glaucousness or down. The flowers of Mezereum are bright carmine, and seem to come 

 out of the very wood of the stem ; those of the present plant are violet-lilac, and grow in little stalked cymes, the 

 ramifications of which remain behind after the fruit has fallen. Is this, then, a new species ? It is scarcely probable. 

 M. Planchon suggests that it may be the D. papyracea of Wallich, a Himalayan species, introduced many years since into 

 England, according to Sweet's " Hortus Britannicus ;" and of which the short diagnosis in Walpers agrees pretty well 

 with our plant. This can be ascertained by those who have access to the figure of that species, published by M. Decaisne, 

 in the botanical part of " Jacquemont's Voyage." Be that as it may, this plant is well worth growing, for it is perfectly 

 hardy, and flowers in March, rather later than D. Mezereum. — Flore ties Serres, t. 592. 



This is a handsome evergreen, with deep purple leaves, occasionally met with in English gardens. Can it be a mule, 

 between the Mezereum and the Spurge Laurel {D. Laureola ?) 



Vakda teres aurorea. A beautiful variety which flowered with Mr. Bull, o£ 

 Chelsea, during the summer of 1881. It will require similar treatment to the original 

 species, which does better with less heat than the warmest section of Orchids are 

 usually subjected, to, with all the light consistent with the requisite shade from the 

 sun's direct rays ; admitting more air in the daytime during the growing season than 

 many cultivators give ; keeping quite dry and comparatively cool through the period 

 of rest. Blooms of the subject under notice were sent to Professor Reichenbach, who 

 describes it as follows — 



A lovely variety. Flower snow-white, with a light rose hue on the anterior part of the lip, and some light 

 yellow in the throat. — Gardener's Chronicle, N.S., vol. xv., p. 688. 



Nymph^ea tubero.sa. So far as appearance in the flowers and leaves, this species 

 is not very different from N. alba or N. odorata, but it differs much from them by 

 the tubers which are formed at the root, a natural provision for its increase, as when 

 fully grown they become detached, and afterwards form separate plants. A native of 

 the North-Eastern American States. 



Rootstock creeping, bearing oblong tubers singly or in clusters along its length. Leaves large, circular, eight 

 to eighteen inches in diameter, sometimes retuse with contracted sides, margin entire or undulate. Flowers four 

 to seven inches in diameter, slightly odorous when first opened, smelling of Apples or Vanilla. Sepals and petals 

 as in N. alba and odorata. Anthers long, the outer with cuspidate tips. Seeds with a usually incomplete aril, 

 rarely with none or a complete one. — Botanical Magazine, U53u. 



