780 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
August 6, 1887. 
Bignonia radicans.—A grand truss of this 
hardy, but by no means too common climber comes to 
hand from Mr. McLean, Vinter’s Park, near Maid¬ 
stone. It was taken from a specimen over fifty years 
old—a fact which speaks for itself as to the safety of 
planting it in the open air. Why it should so seldom 
appear adorning the walls of gardens, in the southern 
counties at least, is a mystery, for the flowers must he 
described as both large and richly coloured. The name, 
Trumpet Flower, describes the shape of the corolla, 
which measures 3| ins. long, and gradually widens 
towards the five-lobed, rich scarlet lamina ; externally 
the tube is a mixture of orange and scarlet, but 
internally these colours take the form of alternating 
and regularly defined lines ; the calyx is also of a deep 
brownish or bronzy scarlet colour ; the stems cling to 
the wall naturally by means of the roots they emit, 
and grow to a height of 20 ft. to 30 ft. This fine 
climber was originally introduced in 1640 from North 
America. 
Seedling Fuchsias. —Mr. G. Fry, of Lewisham, 
sends us a sample of some seedling Fuchsias, of which 
we must speak in very complimentary terms. He is 
an old worker in this field, and evidently a silent or 
quiet one, but of whose work we should like to hear a 
great deal more, in view of the splendid samples sent. 
Of the floriferous nature of his seedlings we cannot 
speak, but the foliage and flowers sent speak volumes 
for themselves. A single variety named Fiery Cross 
has a scarlet tube, with sepals of the same colour, loosely 
reflexed, and of a strikingly thick leathery texture. 
The leaves we must compare to that of a Lime tree for 
size, but two or three times as thick, with a leathery 
texture. The petals are violet-red, suffused with 
scarlet. A variety named George Fry is remarkable 
for the size and beauty of its flowers, having scarlet, 
closely revolute sepals of great texture, and broad, 
erect, convolute petals of similar good substance, which 
are of a violet colour, suffused and veined with scarlet 
at the base. The foliage is similar in texture to that 
of Fiery Cross, but smaller. Beauty of the West is a 
double flower of great size, with white petals, beauti¬ 
fully veined with rose, and the scarlet sepals are short, 
broad, ovate, and spreading. The foliage is finely 
veined with crimson. Many of his seedlings come 
into flower when only 8 ins. to 12 ins. high. 
Lilium auratum polyphyllum.— Thegolden- 
rayed Japan Lily is a grand flower and very popular, 
whatever form may be grown, but that under notice is 
one of the most distinct and best. Some fine speci¬ 
mens, from 5 ft. to 6 ft. in height, at Devonhurst, 
Chiswick, have afforded an example of what the English 
climate is capable of effecting, notwithstanding the 
difficulties that some have experienced with this noble 
Lily. They are grown in a bed amongst Rhododen¬ 
drons, and sheltered on the eastern side by evergreen 
Oaks, Firs, and other trees ; but comparatively open to 
the south and north, and exposed to heavy gales of 
wind that often sweep through between the house and 
trees with great violence. Last year there were only 
two flowering bulbs, which have this year produced 
five stems, two of them each bearing eleven flowers, 
and three others carrying nine, six, and two respectively, 
or, in the aggregate, thirty-nine flowers. The latter 
are of a much purer white than the type, with a pale 
yellow median band, and yellow instead of purple spots. 
Some of the stems of the ordinary form, under the same 
conditions, carry from twelve to twenty-two flowers 
each. 
Alonsoa linearis. —The flowers of this distinct 
species are paler in colour than those of the better 
known A. incisifolia, and, judging from its infrequency 
in collections, would seem to be less popular than the 
latter plant, but a well-grown plant would, no doubt, 
be a beautiful object, and well adapted for conservatory 
work, where its slender, linear, entire, or distinctly 
toothletted leaves would tell in its favour among a 
mixed collection of that description. Like the rest of 
its congeners, it delights in plenty of light and a free 
circulation of air, which keeps the plants close and 
bushy. Given these conditions, there would be no 
difficulty in keeping this plant well furnished with 
foliage, as it is naturally a very leafy plant, producing 
little tufts of leaves very abundantly in the axils of 
the primary leaves. The flowers are pale orange scarlet, 
with darker spots at the base. Mr. Baird grows it in 
his greenhouse at Homefield, Ealing. 
Pachira insignis. —"Well might this species be 
entitled to its specific name, for it is indeed a remark¬ 
able plant from the huge size of its flowers, the petals 
of which individually measure 1 ft. in length. "When 
they first expand they are pale rose or white. The 
great fault of this, as of many other large flowers, is 
their short duration after they become fully expanded. 
This is compensated for, in a measure, by the succession 
of flowers produced on large specimens, the truth of 
which is exemplified by a large specimen at Pendell 
Court, Bletchingley, under the charge of Mr. F. Ross. 
The tree in question (for such is its stature) is planted 
out in a large conservatory, where the flowers are 
conspicuous as much by their numerous bundles of 
stamens, 9 ins. in length, and red style as by the petals 
themselves. The beautiful leaves are of great size and 
digitate. This species is a native of the West Indies, 
requiring stove temperature and a tall house in which 
to grow and flower it, although small plants may be 
grown for their foliage. The species are generally 
known in gardens under the name of Carolinea. 
-- 
ORCHID NOT ES AND GLEANINGS. 
The Orchid Growers’ Calendar. —Where 
Dendrobes are briskly cultivated, some of the D. 
Wardianums, D. crassinodes, and others will be finishing 
up their growths, and should, when fully completed up 
to this point, be placed in a light, airy, and cool house 
to ripen. In most gardens, one or other of the green¬ 
houses or fruit-houses readily offers itself for ripening 
off Dendrobes and other Orchids requiring a distinct 
resting season, and in all cases it is better to look out 
for such a structure, where as many plants as possible 
requiring a dry resting season may be placed together. 
The desired crop of good flowers depends as much on 
the treatment during the dormant as during the growing 
stage. At the same time, I have always found it 
necessary to look over the resting Dendrobes and other 
Orchids occasionally, and give them sufficient water to 
prevent shrivelling. Dendrobes, Calanthes, and other 
things which appear backward should be pushed on in 
order to complete their growths as early as possible. 
Odontoglossum vexillarium may now be re-potted 
where requisite, and in the intermediate house sundry 
Zygopetalums, Maxillarias, Anguloas, &c., will be 
found, which, having passed out of bloom and suffi¬ 
ciently started into new growth, are now ready for 
re-potting. 
The Mexican Lfelias, it should be borne in mind, 
require an abundance of light and a fair amount of air 
and water at this season. L. anceps and most of the 
others like warmth when growing, but make thin weak 
growths if kept close. For the rest it may be said that 
the houses cannot well be kept too moist by damping 
the stages and underneath them, and the back walls. 
Shading should also be carefully looked after, for now 
we may expect occasional cloudy weather, after which 
the sun comes out with great strength, and is likely to 
cause damage quickly if the blinds be not readily 
interposed. 
The Temperatures for the Month of August 
should be :—East Indian or warm house, 75° to 85° 
by day, 70° at night ; Cattleya or intermediate house, 
70° to 75° by day, 65° at night; Odontoglossum or cool 
house, 60° to 70° by day, 55° at night .—Janies O'Brien. 
Dendrobium Seidelianum.— This is a fresh 
name attached by Professor Reichenbach to the well- 
known D. pulchellum (Roxburgh), which is quite a 
distinct thing from the old garden plant, as may be 
seen by Roxburgh’s drawings kept at Kew.— J. O'B. 
Cattleya Gaskelliana. —A lovely series of 
these has just bloomed with the Hon. and Rev. J. T. 
Boscawen, at Lamorran, Probus, Cornwall. In size 
and colouring some of the forms were equal to the best 
C. labiata "Warneri we have seen. One is a magnificent 
thing, with large blush or pearly white flowers, the lip 
being marked, but not heavily, with bright purple. 
This might well be called the Lamorran variety. 
A Freak in Odontoglossum Schlieper- 
ianum. —Amongst a batch of finely-flowered specimens 
of this species at Sudbury House, Hammersmith, is one 
where, for some reason or other, one pseudo-bulb has 
been developed close on the top of another without any 
intermediate rhizome or similar structure. From the 
base of the lower one arises a peduncle or flower-stalk 
bearing four flowers ; and from the base of the upper 
pseudo-bulb two scapes, each carrying four flowers, 
have been produced. Further, from between the two 
latter, an offset, in the form of a large bud, already 
shows itself conspicuously, so that, in the absence of 
any untoward accident, a colony of pseudo-bulbs on 
the top of the primary one will be the result. On 
another plant one scape carries about a dozen flowers, 
equal in number to those borne by the three scapes on 
the above-mentioned plant. 
Acropera Loddigesi.— Although this was the 
first introduced species of Acroprea, ft is not particularly 
common at the present time, but was figured many 
years ago in the Botanical Magazine, t. 3563, and was 
introduced from Mexico. Several plants of different 
sizes are now flowering at Style Hall, Gunnersbury, 
having been got into a healthy and more vigorous 
condition by Mr. Beaton, who found them in a very 
neglected state. One plant bears from twenty to 
thirty spikes, supporting in the aggregate over 100 
flowers. The latter are neither large nor strikingly 
handsome, as those who are acquainted with the species 
well know, but they are singularly quaint, curious, 
and even pretty from the curved condition of the 
pedicel and ovary, and from the strange formation of 
the flowers. The sepals are brownish yellow, the 
upper one hooded, enclosing both petals and column. 
To the base of the latter is fixed the singularly saccate 
labellum, heavily spotted brown and yellow, and from 
the elastic and mobile state of the claw, the whole lip 
resembles a short stout grub or caterpillar of some sort; 
and when the flowers are moved or shaken in any way, 
the likeness is greatly increased. The species of 
Acropera are now generally relegated to Gongora, from 
which they differ merely by having broader sepals, 
and the truncate petals ending in two short divaricate 
bristle-like appendages. 
Plialeenopsis tetraspis. —In habit and general 
appearance, when out of flower, this Himalayan species 
bears a close resemblance to P. sumatrana, but differs 
greatly in the colour of the flowers, which are wholly 
of a waxy white, with the exception of a small yellow 
blotch on each of the small lateral lobes of the lip. 
The convex or ridged apical lobes of the latter, is 
furnished with a cushion of hairs, as densely arranged 
as those of a fine hat brush. The sepals and petals are 
oblong, the lateral sepals being the broadest. These 
chaste-looking flowers are freely produced on arching 
or drooping panicles, and are valuable, not only on 
account of their distinct colour, but their fragrance. 
The oblong or obovate leathery leaves are of a fine green 
appearance. It is now flowering, or did recently, at 
Sudbury House, Hammersmith. 
Oncidium pumilum. —Seldom has one the 
pleasure of inspecting this elegant and pretty little 
species, for it is rare in cultivation. It came originally 
from Brazil, where it grows on the stems of the Calabash 
Tree—Crescentia. A few leathery oblong leaves with¬ 
out any pseudo-bulb, and a short panicle of closely set 
yellow flowers, spotted with brown, is all that we see 
of it; but it is nevertheless a gem amongst its kind. 
The structure of the flower is so unlike the typical 
form of Oncidium, or, indeed, any other species, that 
Reichenbach has said if the genus were to be dis¬ 
membered, this is the first that ought to be separated 
from it. Lindley first described it, and classed it 
in his group Integrilabia ; but anyone taking for 
granted that the lip was entire on that account would 
be very much deceived, and find great difficulty in 
hunting it up for the name. On the other hand, that 
organ is almost equally three-lobed, although these 
are short and blunt. The column is also furnished 
with very curious hooked wings. The specimens we 
had were grown by Mr. J. Baird, at Homefield, Ealing. 
Angra9cum falcatum. — The old-fashioned 
Orchid of this name still maintains a place in many 
gardens, owing probably to its small size, the delicious 
fragrance of its pure white flowers, and the small 
accommodation it requires for its perfect development. 
The spurs are out of all proportion to the size of the 
flowers, or even the plant, although at the same time 
they are small compared with those of A. caudatum 
and A. sesquipedale. A small piece covered with a 
profusion of flowers has lasted for a month in per¬ 
fection at Homefield, Ealing, where Mr. Baird grows 
it in a moderately warm stove temperature. Its chief 
requirements are a small bit of sphagnum, peat and 
crocks, and to be grown in a basket well exposed to 
the light. 
