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C V I ' R I l ' K D I U M IIYBRIDUM I..\THAMIANUM r m , /
V A l i INVERSUM Sir.
CVPRII'RDIUM tlYRk. Latiiamianus] (loncrcd early in iSSS. The :
ticscribctl ns like the no«'cr of C. villwiini, «'illi llii; clorsiil sci)al of C. Spiccrlaii
»•hitc, MiUi (I dark inid-linc of |)>ir|>lg, s,TK.-n at Hie base, with a foi- smaller |)ii
broiviiisli-ochre on the upiwr side, with .1 il.irkcr mid-line. The lip is much
much like that of C, viliosuni.
It was C, S|)iccrianuni a
leaves arc like those nf 1
, The petals arc of a lii
CvfRicumUM HvnR. Lati.amianum, Rchb. f., in Gard, Chron., Mar
!X 881 Gard, Chron, Feb, 15, 1850, |J, 20? I Feb. 22, eSçjo, p. 240!
Cypripcdium hybr. Hera. Rftfi, in Go'-d. C/iron.. Jn». i;, iSço, f. los !
;(l S|icclw. The dorscil sepal 1«
-nchri: nn the lower side, linhl
recnish-ocltre »hade, wliHc the
3I3oI Gartenfiora, 1889, p, 528, fig, 79! Vellcii Man. Orch, PI,,
C, Splcoriffliiiin tlic ¡lollcn parent. Its chief difTercncc
K. A. kolfe.
CVPRIPEDII'M LATllA^íIA^-UM was raised by Mr, W. li. Latham, Cuiiitor of the Botanical Gardens, DirminKham, and is a
cross between Cypripedium Spicerianura and Cypripedium villosiim, but llie subject of our present note is the iiivcrsed
cross, C. villosuin being the seed parent and C. Spiccrianum the pollen parent. This change has producet] a much more
beautiful flower, and is the result of the knowledge and zeal displayed by C, L. Ingr.im, Ksq,, Gotlalming, the editor and
director of the Illnstriitcd Loudon News. Cypripedium Spiccrianum .seems peculiarly well adapted for the purpose of
hybridisation. The plant is of robust constitution, and the flower of great substance and fine shape and colour,
Cypripedium Lathamianum inversum is a noble and fine addition to the now numerous family of hybrid T-iidy's
Slipper Orchids; it is brighter, more pleasing, and altogether superior to the invenscd cross, C. Lathamianum. The
latter is described in the Gardeners Chronicle, March 24, 1888, by the late Prof. Reichenbaeh as follows :—
" I t is one of those hybrids which produce flowers with the characters of both parents. You might call the flowers
those of Cypripedium villosum with the median sepal of Cyjjripedium Sjiicerianum. The leaves are stated to be exactly
like those of the last-named species. The peduncle is ochre-coloured, covered with thin, short hairs, The bract is green,
with the usual dark spots at the base, not equal to the ovary, that is light greenish-ochrc-coloured, with reddish and
\s-hite scattered hairs. The flower was a fac simile o^ that of Cypripedium villosum in its general .sha|)e and in its size.
The median sepal, however, is rather that of C. Spicerianuin, white, with a dark mid-Iinc of purjjle, green at the base
with a few lines, cuncate elliptic apiculate, with replicate sides. Petals light greenish-ochre-coloured outside, \vith a dark
mid-line and brown margins undulate near the apex. Inside, the superior part is light ochre-coloured at the base, then
dark brown to the top, greenish at the apex and lower sides. Dorsal sepal cuneate oblong, minutely acute, greenish,
shorter than the lip, which is like that of C. villosum, though it is of a lighter, greenish-ochre colour. Suminode nearly
square, as in C. \'illosum, with red hairs at the base, white borders, on the side, retuse and most obscurely apiculatc, and
with a green knob in front of the apex,"
Mr. Fred. Boyle, in a late number of the NationalRevico, says :—
"The temptation to hybridise with the object of exchanging colours is peculiariy strong. It becomes yet stronger
by rea-son of the delightful uncertainty which attends one's efforts. So far as I have heard or read, no one has yet been
able to offer a suggestion of any law which decides the result of combination. In a general way, both parents will be