February 9, 1889. 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
375 
sepals and petals are four each, the latter being very 
unequal in size. The upper two are lance-shaped, with 
long stalks, stand erect, and are creamy yellow, while 
the two on the lower side of the flower are very small 
and inconspicuous, but of the same colour. The long- 
stalked ovary is simply in keeping with other members 
of the same family. The great size of the upper petals 
and their prominent position we can correlate with the 
attraction for insects, but we should at the same time 
have expected brighter colouring in association with 
such a wonderful development of the flower. The 
latter are produced in close or crowded terminal 
racemes surmounting the foliage. The leaves are deep 
green and compound, bearing three leaflets; and 
altogether the plant has a very uncommon appearance. 
It may be seen in the stove at Kew. It is a shrub or 
small tree, a native of tropical Africa, and was intro¬ 
duced from the region known as Liberia. 
Aphelandra aurantiaca. 
Where stove plants are grown this should certainly be 
included on account of the brilliancy of its scarlet 
flowers, no less than for the silvery veined evergreen 
foliage. It requires to be struck annually from cuttings 
to appear in its best form. Like those of a great many 
others belonging to the same family the lower leaves 
are liable to drop early, especially if the plants are 
checked by cold or drought. When annually propa¬ 
gated, however, the plants present a dwarf and stocky 
appearance, surmounted by a square spike of bracts 
from which the flowers gradually emerge, forming a 
long succession. _«_ 
The York Gala Schedule. 
The committee have already fixed the date of the next 
exhibition in June, and have issued the schedule of 
prizes, which are as liberal as usual. For stove, green¬ 
house and other plants, £220 ; for Orchids, £47 15s., 
including special prizes of £5 os. from Messrs. 
Backhouse & Son; for Pelargoniums only, £101 ; 
Pioses in pots, £45 15s. ; cut Eoses, close upon £60 ; 
other cut flowers, £38 10s. ; fruits, &c., £68 10s. ; with 
other extra prizes offered, making a total of close upon 
£600. Pansies and Yiolas are again invited, and it is 
to be hoped that better arrangements will be made for 
their being judged by experienced growers this year. 
Last year the work was unfortunately handed over to 
those who knew little or nothing about Pansies, and 
the consequence was that thorough dissatisfaction 
amongst the exhibitors prevailed, the mistakes being 
so apparent to Pansy growers. This flower is now 
extremely popular, and there are several hundred 
varieties at the present time in cultivation, therefore 
judges ought not only to know something of many of 
these varieties, but to be thoroughly well up also in 
the qualities required in Pansies, and to know the 
difference between show, fancy and bedding kinds. 
Yiolas, again, are becoming a trouble even to Pansy 
judges, the question being so often asked, “ Where do 
1 iolas end, and bedding Pansies begin?” It is a 
ticklish matter to decide, but in judging stands of 
Violas, when they are stated in the schedule to be 
Yiolas, a stand containing the most distinct Yiolas only 
gains a great point. Bedding Pansies are often ex¬ 
hibited as Violas, but there are also what may be 
termed “hybrids,” which have a great deal of the 
Pansy breed in them in size, form and habit, but 
would not be available for exhibition amongst show 
Pansies. It becomes a question whether schedules had 
better not state “ Yiolas and Bedding Pansies ” to avoid 
confusion in judging.— A Northern Grower. 
Dwarf Poinsettias. 
In reply to your correspondent, “Pathfinder” (p. 342), 
■who was “somewhat taken aback” on reading my 
remarks at p. 326 on the late potting of Poinsettias, I 
may be allowed to assure him that with me the plants 
retain their foliage better than was sometimes the case 
when earlier potting was resorted to, and in practice I 
find that potting them on at the time stated is 
beneficial to the production of good bracts, provided 
the plants have had time to make firm short-jointed 
growth, which will be the case if treated as I advised. 
Instead of the plants resenting root disturbance 
through being shifted into larger pots when about to 
form their bracts, it is just at this time when they seem 
to require a little extra help, and in my experience they 
prefer having it from fresh soil to being fed with 
stimulants in the ordinary way. I have an idea that 
“Pathfinder” is practising a system of late potting 
with his August-struck plants, and if he has any 
convenience for the purpose no doubt he is able to 
obtain excellent results. Last year I put in a batch of 
cuttings at the end of April, a second lot in May, and 
a third batch in June, the best bracts being obtained 
fromthe first lot. Possibly the sunless season had some¬ 
thing to do with this, the wood of these being firmer 
than those struck at a later date. In 1887, I find 
that I propagated in May and June, and never had a 
more satisfactory lot. I am pleased that “ Pathfinder ” 
has given me the opportunity of stating this, as in an 
ordinary season, April may be found full early. 
During several years’ experience I have sometimes 
propagated as late as the end of July, and although I 
have had them very good when grown on in more heat, 
consequent on the later striking, I prefer to give a 
little more time with cooler treatment, and have never 
had them so satisfactory as the last three seasons when 
grown on the plan described at p. 326.— S. P., 
Chelmsford. 
Cyclamen Atkinsi. 
Hardy Cyclamen—or Sowbread, as they are some¬ 
times called—are a very interesting group of plants, 
and in the above subject we have a much-improved 
variety of C. ibericum. Both the white and rose- 
coloured forms of C. Atkinsi are choice and charming 
winter or early spring-flowering gems of great utility. 
The amateur in search of something good for the orna¬ 
mentation of his hardy plant structure at this season of 
the year will assuredly secure these two fine Alpine 
subjects, if he be fortunate enough to come across them 
in a satisfactory and floriferous condition. To the lover 
of this class of plant the Cyclamen is a necessity, as 
although it will not bear comparison for size of bloom 
with its more delicate congener, the Persian Cyclamen 
of our warm greenhouses, yet under good cultivation it 
forms fine specimens, and its pretty little shuttlecock¬ 
like blossoms are yielded in great profusion. A small 
corm of C. A. roseum in a 4-in. pot is now, with me, a 
pretty picture. It has a number of circular leaves of a 
marbled description, and these are surmounted by a 
dozen flowers of the brightest rose, the whole plant not 
exceeding 3 ins. in height. At this early period of the 
year, it quite acts as an illuminator to the other subjects 
in proximity to it. Culture consists in simply providing 
a light compost of vegetable soil, a semi-shady position, 
and efficient means for the escape of surplus moisture. 
— C. B. G., Acton, W. 
New Seedling Fuchsia. 
A specimen of what appears to be a very pretty little 
variety of Fuchsia has been sent us by Mr. W. B. 
Glasscock, Shirley Park, Croydon. Its precise value 
cannot be determined merely from flowers, because the 
habit of the plant, its floriferousness, and other 
characters have to be taken into consideration. The 
tube and sepals are white, and the roundish petals are 
of a delicate and beautiful shade of soft, rosy pink. A 
curiosity occurs in the stamens being flattened out, 
white, and petaloid. The case affords a good instance 
of how double flowers may be produced or developed 
from single ones. The style is greatly exserted, and 
white with a large club-like, deep purple stigma. The 
whole presents a beautiful and pleasing combination of 
colours. 
Mushroom on a Mushroom. 
Those who know the peculiar and minute structure of 
a Mushroom have reason to wonder how it can grow 
into the characteristic shape in which we know it, 
seeing that it is made up of an intricate mass of threads 
that really do not constitute a true tissue, as we know 
to be the case in more commonly cultivated and, to 
wit, green plants. We, however, noticed a curious 
specimen a short time ago in the Mushroom house at 
Devonliurst, Chiswick. From the top of an ordinary 
Mushroom another specimen originated, and being 
reversed, the stalk was projected upwards perpendicu¬ 
larly from the parent giving rise to this singular freak. 
Although instances of the same thing have occurred 
before, they are by no means frequent. The super¬ 
numerary specimen was very much smaller than that 
from which it originated, but being in close union with 
the latter it was no doubt entirely nourished by it. 
A specimen originating in this way would appear more 
singular if it had been attached by its stalk to the 
parent; but there seems no reason why such should 
not happen, and it would, indeed, appear the more 
natural way. 
Boussingaultia baselloid.es. 
Autumn is the season when this plant is in its best 
form, when the ends of the shoots give rise to long, 
slender racemes of fragrant white flowers. It is, how¬ 
ever, interesting at this season owing to the numerous 
tubers that cluster in the axils of the leaves on any 
part of the stem. The tubers, like those of the Potato, 
are nothing more or less than branches which have 
become arrested, and have become thick and fleshy 
instead of elongating. They also give off branches, 
and curiously enough, some of these afterwards 
elongate, forming long slender shoot3 with a greatly 
thickened base. By this means the plant can readily 
be propagated to any extent. In order to flower the 
plant well, it should be kept rather dry after having 
made its growth, to ripen the wood. There is a large 
plant of it in a pot in the nursery of Messrs. J. Carter 
& Co., Forest Hill. 
Triteleia uniflora. 
An exceedingly chaste early spring-flowering bulbous 
plant, with grassy foliage, much decumbent, and pale 
lavender-lilac flowers of great beauty, T. uniflora, or 
the spring Star Flower, merits a few words of praise. 
Although a native of Buenos Ayres it is yet sufficiently 
hardy in our climate, with a little protection, to con¬ 
stitute a valuable pot subject for the decoration of the 
hardy plant-house. As the specific name implies, the 
flowers are produced singly on stem3 that average about 
2J ins. long, the blooms themselves being about 1 in. 
in diameter ; these following a perfect ternary arrange¬ 
ment has given rise to the generic term Triteleia. A 
peculiarity of the blooms of this species is that they 
are only capable of full expansion under the influence 
of strong light, although, even where dull weather 
prevails and they are only partially open, this cir¬ 
cumstance does not seriously detract from their 
intrinsic grace. The term “uniflora” must not be 
taken as implying a paucity of blooms, for although 
these are only given off singly, they are yielded very 
freely ; a potful of little bulbs, therefore, is capable of 
producing a profusion of floral beauty. Eich well- 
drained soil is required to aid the full development of 
this unique little Alpine gem. Several pots are now in 
good condition in the Alpine house at Kew, their 
bright starry blossoms forming quite a feature in that 
interesting hardy plant structure.— C. B. G., Acton, TV. 
--HSH*- 
ORCHID NO TES AND GLEANINGS. 
Twin-flowered Cypripedium Harrisianum. 
With reference to your reply to “A. C.,” at p. 362, I 
may say that we have a plant hero—not a large one— 
which this season bore five scapes, two of which had 
twin flowers— i.e., two blooms on the scape. Though 
I have growm plants of C. Harrisianum for the past ten 
years, this was the first instance in which two-flowered 
scapes appeared with me ; but as the phenomenon 
occurs in several other Cypripediums—notably C. 
insigne, when in vigorous health—it was attributed, in 
our case, to the same cause. Had I thought the occur¬ 
rence was rare in the plant in question, I would have 
sent you the scapes.— James Whitton, The Gardens, 
Glamis Castle, Forfar, N.B. 
Dendrobium aureum. 
The applicability of names, even botanical, is often 
very obscure ; and a good instance of it may be found 
in the Dendrobe under notice. The colour of the 
flowers exhibits little approaching a golden yellow ; nor 
do the fruits, which are now well known in this 
country, exhibit any variety of form which would 
warrant the application of Wallich’s name, D. hetero- 
carpum, which is more familiar to Orchid growers 
generally than Lindley’s name, D. aureum. The species 
is remarkable amongst Dendrobes for the wide distri¬ 
bution it enjoys in south-eastern Asia and the 
neighbouring islands. Several varieties are sufficiently 
distinct to merit distinctive names—a fact which is not 
surprising. They may be looked upon as geographical 
forms, and the wonder is that they should have remained 
so nearly constant, notwithstanding the time it must 
have taken them to diverge to their respective homes, 
generally far distant from their original habitats and 
from the common ancestral stock. The sepals and 
petals of the type are creamy or amber-yellow, while 
the lip is a shade darker, streaked with reddish purple 
on the side lobes, and having a velvety disk, the hairs 
of which furnish the dark buff-yellow colour of that 
organ. To the variation in the colour of these hairs 
the respective tints of the lip in different varieties is 
due, and we noted a form the other day at Devonhurst, 
Chiswick, where the hairs were of a coppery red. The 
fragrance of this species in a house cannot be ignored, 
as it resembles that of Primroses several times concen¬ 
trated. The odour is also powerfully emitted at night, 
even after the flowers have been removed from the 
plants for several days. 
