PLORICULTURAL NOTICES. 
47 
become an object of the greatest admiration ; and when seen in the beauty we saw it in the collec- 
tion of S. Rucker, Esq., under the very careful management of Mr. Mylam, calls forth our utmost 
praise. The specimen had upwards of thirty spikes of bloom, all fully expanded, hanging grace- 
fully down the side of the pot. The species is well known for its pendulous racemes of semi- 
transparent, white, waxy flowers, and possesses a very pleasant odour which adds to its attractions. 
Croci. We found flowering several fine species of Croci in the gardens of the Horticultural 
Society, Chiswick, which formed part of the collection of the late Dean of Manchester. They 
ai’e much larger, richer in colour, &c., than the ordinary varieties in cultivation. One was 
particularly beautiful, being white, and most delicately pencilled and feathered with lilac equal to 
any tulip, and enriched with brilliant golden anthers ; another was rich blue lilac, and tipped at 
the points of the petals with a much deeper colour ; a third was an intensely bright purple ; a 
fourth was bright orange, expanding star-like, having at the base and on a third of the petal a paler 
colour. They will prove great attractions in collections of this most serviceable race of bulbs. 
Dielytra spectabilis. In the nursery of Messrs. Knight and Perry, this scarce and very 
beautiful species is now blooming, though, from the season and being in the stove, it is not seen in 
such beauty as it ought ; still, sufficient is visible to prove its value. It is expected to be as hardy 
as the other Dielytras, from its being found in the same locality as the Weigela rosea, viz., in the 
island of Chusan. A well-grown specimen produces racemes four or five inches long, holding a pro- 
fusion of delicate rosy-pink flowers somewhat heart-shaped. Mr. Fortune states that it is one of the 
favourite plants of the Mandarins, who give it the name of the Red and White Moutan Flower, 
most probably from the great resemblance in foliage and habit to the Moutan Pseony. Mr. F. 
also says it lasts a considerable time in flower, and we find (from the specimen here noticed) 
that it will be a most useful plant for early forcing, as it requires only a very moderate amount of 
heat to excite it to bloom, the present subject being in heat about three weeks and is most beautiful. 
We believe this to be the second time of its flowering in this country, a specimen having bloomed 
last summer (1847) in the gardens of the Horticultural Society, Chiswick, and noticed as one of the 
many interesting plants introduced there by Mr. Fortune. 
Lycaste Skinnerii. Mr. Rucker has had several fine varieties of this most beautiful species 
in flow'er, all apparently growing from the same bulbs, yet varying so much in size, shape, and 
colour, as to make them varieties of each other, which in the specimen gave increased attraction. 
One variety was large, white, and had a richly-spotted labellum ; a second smaller, and a rich 
rose-colour, with a lip pale and slightly spotted ; the rest varied betwixt the two above-named. 
The finest variety we noticed in flower in the nursery of Messrs, Rollissons, Tooting, having 
upwards of twenty expanded flowers and buds on one specimen, the whole being of a deep rose- 
colour, with the lip richly spotted with crimson. Messrs. R. had another variety, very attractive, 
the petals shorter, broader, and slightly tinged with rose-colour ; labellum pale, but well-covered 
with crimson spots. 
Sericographis Ghiesbregtiana. This species we found flowering in the nursery of Messrs, 
Rollisson’s, Tooting. It has a very graceful appearance, and, flowering during the winter months, 
is highly serviceable. The flower-stems, branched, are produced at the axils of the leaves and the 
ends of the shoot, holding upwards of ten bright-red flowers on each stem. The foliage is neat, 
and a bright green. The plant is generally known as Aphelandra Ghiesbregtiana. 
Tillandsia Stricta. a most charming little species, growing suspended from the rafter in 
the stove of Messrs. Henderson, Pine-apple Place Nursery, Edgware Road. The specimen was 
very small, had a ball-like appearance, with its richly-coloured flowers bristling from every side. 
The plant is but an inch-and-a-half long before the flower-scape appears, and this does not extend 
three inches farther, and is of the richest crimson, both stem and bracts ; and the tiny flowers are 
deep purple. 
Vanda insignis. Messrs. Veitch and Sons, Exeter, forwarded recently a fine specimen, in 
flower, of the above for exhibition, to the Horticultural Rooms, Regent Street, It belongs to the 
Roxburghii and tessellata varieties, though much finer and more handsome ; has a large broad 
labellum, of a rich lilac, the sepals and petals striped and spotted with brown, on a ground almost 
white. In habit it differs little from the family to which it belongs. The species is deservedly a 
great favomnte with all cultivators of this handsome race of Epiphytes. 
