t •¡1
i
M I L T O N I A IIIYBRIDA) l iLEUANA //„/.
>r M. RoEzIii. The
milM, The h|> is quito intermwlmtc in shnpc,
ase of tlic lip, and a fciv racliating rosy lines im
ilour, as in the lypical foim of M. RoMlii. One
t of Ihc disc of n light brown shndc, nnd was cnl
15 doubtful if nny two individuals nrc quite .nlikc
» 3 ; Lindcnia, IV., p. 67, t 176.
A hybrid raised from Miltonia vexillaria fertilised with the pi
mother plant, and the form of Ihe dorsal sepal and Ihc petals arc also v
nf the flowers closely resemble Ihc pollen ¡jarent in character. In this
duals. The one first figured had the flowers white, with .some yellow at
others soon followed, in which the basal part of the petaJs ivi • ' '
of bright yellow, was c.illed variety aurca, while the other iiau the I
here figured approaches the latter, but is raore brilliantly coloured,
MILTONIA (hybrida) HLEUANA, Hort, Card. Chron., Feb. 1
MILTONIA (hybrida) HLEUI, Godefroy Orchi.iopliilo, 1S89,
M11.TONIA (hybrida) JiLEgANA VAR. SPLENde.vs, Bleu, ex Williams' Orchid Album, IX., L 412,
Miltonioiisis (hybrida) BIcui, Godefroy Orchidophile, 1889, !>, 145, with plate (varieties aurca and splendens).
It ivas in June, 1883, that M. Alfred Bleu, of Pari», a well-known hybridist, crossed Miltcnia vexillaria with 11
raising some distinct garden form of this beautiful genus. The pod ripened in April, 18S4, and the seed was sown
seedlings was seen to be pushing a (lower-spike, the floivere of which expanded in the following January, four years a
the seed. It was exhibited at a meeting of L'Orchiddenno, of Brussels, on February loth, and was awarded a Dipli
X.— events^ appeared later, about llie time of floivering ' '
:oIour, though few other iirst crosses have produced '
I the bright rose colour of the mother plant, thoiigli th
•e first artificial hybrid to ' ' "
vhile the column and the colour
led variety splend'cns. The one
it has proved very variable, especially in <
present one. None, however, have retained
acquisition, and specially inteiestlng as tV
Our analytical drawi
THIS magnificent orchkl is a hybrid raised by Möns. Alfred Bleu, of Paris, and we give in the following his description
of the plant, read by him before the llorticultiir.il Society of France. One of them was shown in May, 1890, at the
Horticultui-al Exhibition in Paris, and purchased by us. It is a hybrid raised between Miltonia (Odontoglossum) Roezlii
and Miltonia (Odontoglossum) vexillaria. Both parents are indigenous to the United States of Columbia, and both are
equally beautiful and continue to be grown in every collection, and this is fully justified by their large and elegant
flowers, which remain in flower for a considerable time.
Möns. Bleu s a y s " These considerations account for the great desire of orchid hybridisers to obuin offspring
from these two interesting species. As is the case with a great majority of the genus of this family, the fertilisation is an
easy matter, and the seed is both abundant and of good quality ; but great difficulty is encountered in the germination
and raising of the young plants. It is a double satisfaction to me to have been able both to solve this problem—until
now insoluble—and also to place under the ej'es of the Society the first specimen in flower of this new type,
" T h e seed obtained by fertilisation made in June, 1883, was sown in April, 1884. A few plants were raised,
among which I found the specimen represented here—a plant not only remarkable for its large and numerous flowers,
but by its great development compared with other plants of the same age. On calculation it will be seen that it has
taken four years and nine months to bring it into bloom.
" One may be allowed to suppose that this cross, possessing many characters of both parents, will be heartily
welcomed, and become of great commercial value. Its vigorous vegetation, its abundant flowering, seen even in
the weakest plants (in proof of which four specimens are now actually in bud in my establishment), will assign to
it a place in collections, making it a plant much in demand. Although the flowers are very large in the specimen
presented to the Society, I am i:i a position to affirm, af ter numerous ob.servations I have noted at the period of their
first flowering, that the plant wiil still improve in growth by at least a fifth, and perhaps more.
" By the arrangement and shape of the petals, as well as the upper .sepal, the flower reminds us of O. vexillarium.
The lower sepals are distinguished from those of its two parents by their being strictly horizontal. The lip is intermediate,
and the middle iobe is more pronounced than that of M. Roezlii, but not so deeply sloped as M. vexillaria. The
graceful ornament of the base, which has imparted its elegant shape to the last-named, has, like its parents, a yellowsulphur
ground, with brown stripes. The deep violet blotches on the petals of M. Roezlii are transmitted to this hybrid,
but with a more delicate hue. The rosy colour of M. vexillaria has entirely disappeared, but the pure white ground of Ü,
Roezlii is preserved ; finally, the column is more developed and pronounced than that of the seed-bearing plant, but not
so large in the case of the male variety."
We can but congratulate Möns. Bleu on his great success and achievement in obtaining such a grand hybrid
orchid.
Our plate w: a plant purchased by us (n