THE FLORAL MAGAZINE 
NEW SERIES.] MARCH, 1880. [No. 99. 
HORTICULTURAL EXHIBITIONS. 
The usual periodical meeting of the Royal Horticultural 
Society took place at South Kensington on February 
10th, and though the display was not a large one, it 
yet presented many points of interest. The following 
new plants received First-class Certificates of Merit : 
Nepenthes bicalcarata, which is described by the 
Gardener’ s Chronicle as “ a remarkable Pitcher-plant, 
new to gardens, but described by Sir Joseph Hooker 
some few years ago from dried specimens collected in 
Borneo by Low and others. To Mr. F. W. Burbidge, 
however, belongs the credit of introducing the plant 
in a living state to Messrs. Veitch’ s Nurseries. It 
was exhibited before the Royal Horticultural Society 
side by side with dried specimens. Even in the 
relatively small state as shown it is a Pitcher-plant of 
very marked characteristics, and amply justified the 
award of a First-class Certificate made to it. The 
leaves are of a peculiar dark green ; the bag-shaped 
pitchers are covered, when young, with a fluffy rust- 
coloured down, and are, when fully developed, provided 
with two sharply-toothed wings. The neck of the 
pitcher is thrown into ridges with intervening furrows, 
and is prolonged at the back into an erect or slightly 
incurved process, terminating in the bud-recurved 
spears, like the fangs of a snake with its head uplifted 
to strike. These formidable-looking spurs are nothing 
but enlargements of the ordinary ridges surrounding 
the mouth. A smaller spur, or conical spine, is met 
with in some cases on the under surface of the lids, 
while from the back of the prolonged neck of the 
pitcher projects a blunt hook covered with hairs. The 
spurs would seem calculated to serve, as a rat-trap 
might do, to imprison vagrant insects. What the 
hook at the back means we cannot guess in the absence 
of sufficiently young specimens ; nor can we guess its 
purpose, if it have any, unless it be as a means of 
support. The specimen at South Kensington was 
also remarkable for the presence of small scattered 
conical prickles on the stalks of the pitcher, which 
are not mentioned in the original description.” The 
Gardener’ s Chronicle strongly suspects that Mr. S. Le 
M. Moore’s Nepenthes Dyak, figured in the Journal of 
Botany for January, 1880, will turn out to be a minia- 
ture state of the present plant. The same award was 
made to Dendrobium Splendidissimum, a hybrid raised 
between the beautiful D. macrophyllum Huttoni or 
D. nobile, and the deliciously violet-scented D. hetero- 
carpum. The sepals and petals are cream-coloured 
and tipped with purple, and the lip yellow with a 
blackish-purple blotch at the base. The progeny of 
this cross is singular, inasmuch as the flowers are 
quite devoid of the tawny hue of those of D. hetero- 
carpum, although to a great extent they partake of 
the form and size of the latter. Also to Daphne 
Blagayana, a new Styrian species ; the flowers, which 
are ivory-white, are borne in terminal clusters on 
every branch, and are surrounded by a row of deep 
green leaves, which show them off to advantage. The 
delicious aromatic perfume, resembling that of the 
well-known D. indica, emitted by the flowers, in 
addition to the perfect hardiness of the plant in our 
climate, considerably enhances its value. All the 
foregoing came from Messrs. Veitch and Sons, Exotic 
Nurseries, King’s Road, Chelsea. 
In addition, Messrs. Veitch and Sons had a speci- 
men of Dendrobium Domini, a charming hybrid raised 
between the old D. nobile and D. moniliforme. The 
flowers are intermediate in size, colour, and form 
between the parents, rendering it, as the Garden 
remarks, “ one of the most beautiful of Dendrobes.” 
A fine seedling Amaryllis and some beautiful Cyclamen 
were also staged. 
In a group of flowering and other plants staged by 
Mr. William Bull, King’s Road, Chelsea, appeared two 
beautiful varieties of Catleya Trianae, viz., Vesta and 
formosa : the former with delicate flowers, almost 
white ; the latter characterized by deep and rich 
colours. The cream-coloured Dendrobium luteolum 
was also shown ; the fine Cymbidium Lowianum, 
figured in the Floral Magazine a short time ago ; a 
handsome variety of Odontoglossum gloriosum named 
Superbum ; O. cirrhosum, and the distinct orange-red 
flowered Ada Aurantiaca. 
A superb specimen of Laelia anceps came from Mr. Z. 
Stevens, gardener to the Duke of Sutherland, Trent- 
ham, Staffordshire. It had ten flowering stems, 
bearing in the aggregate thirty-four blossoms. The 
plant was in rare condition, and was awarded a Cultural 
Commendation. 
From Mr. H. B. Smith came examples of his large- 
flowered Cyclamen persicum, Rosy Morn, in fine con- 
dition, figured by us a year ago. From Mr. Green, 
