This very beautiful plant is a hybrid production, 
and was raised at the Nursery of Mr. Colvill, from a 
seed of P. Breesianum that had been fertilized with the 
pollen of P. ignescens. Its flowers are very dark, and 
of a brilliant colour, which no colouring of the artist 
can come near to. We can scarcely imagine how so 
light a flower as P. Breesianum could produce so dark 
a one as the present. The same observation is appli- 
cable to P. Kingii, which is altogether as light, though 
raised from a seed of a very dark one, P. Husseyanum, 
mixed with P. Smithii. 
The present plant, like the others to which it is re- 
lated, succeeds well in a mixture of light turfy loam, 
peat, and sand, an equal portion of each : it will then 
continue to flower in succession all the summer. We 
have named it in compliment to the Rev. W. H. Palk, 
of Halldown House, near Exeter, Devon ; a gentleman 
much attached to this family of plants, and who is in 
possession of a valuable collection of them. 
