August 10, 1889. 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
791 
herbaceous border and elsewhere, provided it gets 
moderately deep and fertile soil, and is properly exposed 
to light. Neither should it be under the influence of 
the shade, drip, or the roots of trees. All these con¬ 
ditions are adverse to its general well-being by robbing 
it of air, light, and moisture. Under favourable con¬ 
ditions it makes a good example of its kind at 3 ft. in 
height. Other species of less beauty often greatly 
exceed these dimensions, and reach a height of 4 ft. to 
6 ft. The variety E. R. ruthenicus is distinguished by 
its pinnatifid and lobed leaves having the segments 
terminated by spines or prickles. It also grows to 3 ft. 
or 4 ft. in height. Both have globular heads of deep 
blue flowers that are both conspicuous and highly 
ornamental. Being quite hardy it is matter for surprise 
that they do not enjoy a more extended cultivation, 
for the decoration of garden borders. They are certainly 
bold and distinct compared with many weedy subjects 
that find a place in every collection. The type is a 
native of southern Europe, while the variety comes 
from eastern Europe (or Russia chiefly, as the name 
implies) and Western Asia. 
Pandanus odoratissimus. 
The specific name of this plant is derived from the 
strong and pleasing odour given off by the inflorescence 
of the male plant, which is long, pendulous, branched, 
and bears innumerable small white flowers, with a 
large white spathe or bract sheathing the base of each 
branch. There is a magnificent painting of this in¬ 
florescence in the North Gallery at Kew. A scent is 
made from the inflorescence of this plant by the 
Javanese, who greatly esteem it. When it flowers in 
this country, it fills a large house with its odour, which, 
although powerful, is by no means disagreeable at a 
short distance away. The large specimen near the 
north-end door of the Palm-house at Kew is the seed¬ 
bearing form, and at present carries some of its 
peculiar, cone-like, pendent clusters of fruit. Old 
specimens like that under notice bear leaves in bold 
tufts at the ends of the stout slow-growing stems and 
branches, and although exceedingly picturesque in this 
condition, are only suitable for large houses. Small or 
young plants are, however, more graceful in pots and 
useful for decorative purposes. The greatest fault of 
this plant, like many others, is that the leaves are 
spiny and require careful handling. 
Aralia pentaphylla variegata. 
WELL-grown plants of this, even although small, have 
a very enlivening effect amongst either stove or green¬ 
house plants, where there is a preponderance of foliage, 
or in other words, a scarcity of flowers. The young 
leaves have a broad, irregular margin of creamy yellow, 
changing to a silvery white with age. Frequently, 
however, almost the entire leaf is of this colour, and 
when this is the case the plant is indeed pretty. The 
leaves, as the name implies, are divided into five 
leaflets, and in small plants they are comparatively 
moderate in dimensions. When allowed to grow 
strong, the stems become more or less spiny, and the 
plant is in consequence sometimes named Panax spinosa. 
It may also occasionally be seen in gardens under the 
name of Acanthopanax quinquefolia. The species is a 
native of Japan, and the variegated form was intro¬ 
duced from thence in 1874. The green or typical form 
is sometimes grown in botanic gardens. 
Hsemanthus magniflcua. 
Under ordinary circumstances the leaves and flowers 
of this species are produced at different times, the leafy 
stem developing after the blooms have faded. We 
noticed, however, an erratic and apparently unreason¬ 
able specimen at Upper Holloway the other day, and 
which had an old and a young set of leaves con¬ 
temporaneously with a flower-scape bearing a large 
umbel of well-developed flowers. The whole plant was 
moderate in size, hearing the two tufts of leaves side 
by side, while the flower-scape was outside of all, but 
nearest the younger set of leaves. The scape was also 
about 6 ins. in length, and shorter than the leaves. 
The perianth was of a beautiful carmine-scarlet, with 
paler tips, flesh-coloured filaments and yellow anthers. 
This species is often grown in gardens under the name 
of Rouperi, erroneously spelt Roperi, and belongs to 
the sub-genus Gyaxis, of which the well-known 
Hfemanthus natalensis may be regarded as a type. 
The characters that distinguish the group are the 
membraneous leaves, permanently erect spathe valves 
and perianth segments. The individual flowers do not 
present the starry appearance as seen in the spreading 
flowers of H. Katherime. 
Osmunda regalis corymbifera. 
While 0. r. cristata may be regarded as a crested 
form of the type, that under notice seems to be a 
crested variety of 0. r. palustris, on account of its 
slender and reddish petioles and mid-ribs. It is cer¬ 
tainly a gracefully tasselled Fern, highly suitable for 
cultivation in temperate ferneries, cool conservatories, 
and similar places. The apex of the pinnae is crested, 
while the apex of the frond is more deeply cut, so as to 
produce a tassel or corymb of branches. Like O. r. 
cristata, it is very dwarf in habit, not usually much 
exceeding 15 ins., and is frequently less. There is 
little difficulty, therefore, in the matter of accommo¬ 
dation, even where house-room is rather limited. The 
fronds, too, are spreading or drooping in habit, not 
erect. In gardens it is generally grown under the name 
of 0. japonica corymbifera. 
-- 
ORCHID NOTES AND GLEANINGS. 
l * l 
Galeandra Baueri. 
The pseudo-bulbs of this species are very dwarf (about 
6 ins.) compared with those of the better-known G. 
Devoniana, which generally grows to a height of 2 ft. 
The latter usually flowers in winter, but it may do so 
at various times,, according to treatment, and it seems 
that this species behaves much in the same way. Tho 
dwarf stems, and the fact that leaves are produced with 
the flowers or retained by the plant contemporaneously 
with them, are points in favour of the species. The 
flowers are also in themselves pretty, though smaller 
than those of G. Devoniana, and produced in short 
pendulous racemes. The sepals and petals are yellow, 
but the lip varies considerably in colour. Its throat 
and tube are yellow, but the better or more typical 
forms have the lamina of a deep purple with a white 
margin. Other individuals have a much paler lamina, 
and as the purple disappears, the yellow ground colour 
generally prevails, until we come to an extreme form, 
named G. B. lutea, which is yellow with a few parallel 
purple lines on the lamina of the labellum. The dark 
form above mentioned we noticed the other day in the 
nurseries of Mr. B. S. Williams, Upper Holloway, 
together with several paler-flowered forms. 
Cypripedium Morgani/e. 
This is a hybrid between C. superbiens and C. Stonei, 
and may well be compared to C. Stonei platytanium, 
in reference to the size of the whole flower and the 
breadth of the handsomely-spotted petals. The ground 
colour of the latter is pale yellow, which shows up the 
numerous dark-coloured markings well. The purple 
spots are most numerous towards the tips of the petals, 
whicli hang down much in the same manner as those 
of C. superbiens, and in large blooms attain a length of 
5 ins. or 6 ins. The upper sepal is less conspicuous, 
being white more or less suffused with rose, and having 
from seven to nine purple veins traversing it longitudi¬ 
nally. The lip is of great size and pale purple, reticu¬ 
lated with darker veins. The whole plant is more 
vigorous than either parent, with broadly strap-shaped 
leaves of a bright green, more or less distinctly tessel¬ 
lated, as in the case of the seed parent, C. superbiens. 
It is by no means widely disseminated as yet, but 
Mr. B. S. Williams has a flowering plant at Upper 
Holloway. 
Phal/enopsis Sanderiana. 
So far as colouring goes, a great variety of shade pre¬ 
vails in the different individuals that pass muster for 
P. Sanderiana, some being nearly white. The labellum 
in the typical plant is white, but a specimen we noted 
the other day at Upper Holloway had the sepals, 
petals, and the greater part of the lip of a deep or warm 
rose. Whether this is a distinct variety, or merely the 
result of particular treatment, it is certainly very fine. 
At the base of the triangular middle lobe of the lip are 
some yellow streaks, and some at the base of the side 
lobes, as seen in P. aphrodite, the crest being closely 
spotted with yellow. 
Vanda Denisoniana hebraica. 
The markings on the flowers of this variety are singu¬ 
larly curious after one has been accustomed to the 
white blooms of V. Denisoniana itself. The general 
ground colour is yellow, and the sepals and petals are 
darker on the inner face—indeed, almost of a dusky 
yellow, owing to the curious reticulations or wavy 
markings of a tawny brown with which they are thickly 
beset. A tall plant, about 3 ft. or 4 ft. in height, 
bearing three spikes of these singular flowers, may be 
seen in Mr. B. S. Williams’ nursery, at Upper Hol¬ 
loway. 
Houlletia chrysantha. 
In colour this is somewhat variable, the sepals and 
petals in the typical form being bright yellow, more or 
less blotched with chocolate-brown. A flowering 
specimen in the Victoria and Paradise Nurseries has 
the sepals and petals uniformly of a deep yellow. The 
lip is a most remarkable structure, the middle lobe 
being hastate and white ; the lateral lobes are erect, 
then curved forward, and yellow. From below these 
segments a creamy white horn from the median line 
of the lip projects backwards till it rests against the 
column. Owing to the presence of this curious organ, 
and the curved and pointed lateral lobes of the lip, the 
genus may readily be distinguished from all other of its 
near allies. The raceme stands erect from the base of 
the comparatively small conical pseudo-bulbs, and is 
shorter than the solitary, lanceolate, plicate, and much 
veined leaf springing from the top. The nearest allies 
are Stanhopea, Peristeria, Acineta, and a few more. 
L/elia elegans prasiata. 
The contrast of colour between the terminal lobe of 
the lip and the other organs of the flower is very char¬ 
acteristic and pretty. The sepals and petals, though 
not exactly coloured alike, are nearly so, and of a pale 
magenta-rose or sometimes almost blush. The tube 
of the lip and its lateral lobes externally are white, but 
may assume a darker shade of colour when at their 
best or before they fade. The whole of the terminal 
lobe, however, and the interior of the side lobes are of 
the richest magenta-crimson, with darker veins and a 
somewhat paler margin. The colour, however, is 
exceedingly difficult to describe, and more especially 
when the light falls upon the flower in particular 
directions. It was named by Reichenbach in 1863 ; 
and a flowering specimen may be seen in Mr. B. S. 
Williams’ nursery at Tipper Holloway. 
Miltonia spectabius. 
Although described as an autumn-flowering species 
it often blooms in summer or early autumn, say from 
the latter part of July till September. The peculiar 
pale yellow hue of the pseudo-bulbs, and the pale 
foliage, are somewhat against its appearance, especially 
if associated with darker-leaved Orchids, but it is quite 
healthy notwithstanding this peculiarity. Several 
other allied species are characterised by the same pallid 
hue, to which M. vexillaria, M. Phaleenopsis, and M. 
Roezlii are exceptions. The scape produces one flower 
only, generally of large size, measuring from 3 ins. to 4 
ins. in diameter. The sepals and petals are white, 
thus contrasting with the large lip, which is purple at 
the base, with a three-ridged yellow crest, and nearly 
white upward, traversed with pale purple veins. It is 
well adapted for culture in baskets, and has a fine 
appearance when a number of flowers are expanded at 
the same time. 
Cattleya SchilleRIana. 
In habit this may be compared with C. Aclandke, and 
it is equally if not even more pretty on account of the 
beautifully variegated lip. The spreading sepals and 
petals are of a dark bronzy brown, spotted purple, 
similar in that respect as well as in size and form to 
those of C. guttata or some of its numerous varieties. 
There is, however, no other resemblance, and the short 
pseudo-bulbs at once places it in another group. The 
leaves are very broad, leathery and dark green. The 
tube of the lip is suffused with purple on a pale almost 
white ground ; the lamina on the contrary is the 
brightest and most conspicuous feature of the flower, 
being beautifully lined and reticulated with rich 
purple on a white ground. We noted it in flower 
recently in the nursery of Mr. B. S. Williams at Upper 
Holloway. 
Oncidium MACRANTHUM. 
The usual period for this plant to flower is spring and 
early summer, but a correspondent has sent us good 
specimens of a rich and more clearly-defined yellow 
colour than is frequently the case with this species. 
In the more typical varieties the sepals are stained 
with purplish brown or purplish red, while the petals 
are often streaked with crimson. The specimens sent 
had the upper sepal of a dark shade, inclined to orange 
or fulvous yellow ; the lateral ones were slightly tinted 
with green, owing to the midrib externally being of 
that hue. The petals were of a deep but clear yellow, 
and both sepals and petals were undulated at the 
margin. The triangular or hastate lip is a curious 
organ, and is small compared with the other parts of 
the flower. For this reason 0. macranthum belongs to 
the section Microchila of the genus. The lateral lobes 
and the edges of the lip were stained with deep 
brownish purple, and the huge fleshy and prominent 
seven-toothed crest was creamy white, tipped with 
