Part 2

_Terrestrial_. PSEUDOBULBS _nearly two inches long, ovate, bearing one, or more frequently two, narrow linear, very acute_ LEAVES, _less than a foot long, and usually withered at the extremities_. RACEME _nodding, shorter than the leaves, furnished with a few small acute_ BRACTS, _and bearing two, or occasionally three, very large and handsome flowers, which, the markings of the lip excepted, are of a uniform white_. SEPALS _oblong, sharp-pointed, about an inch long_. PETALS _broader than the sepals, obtuse_. LIP _fiddle-shaped, its front portion deeply emarginate, spread out nearly flat, very broad, its side portions much smaller, rounded, and with two continuous upright lamellæ on its velvety disk; the lip has two large irregular pale-crimson blotches on its anterior portion, with concentric lines of the same colour on its lower portion, with a small patch of yellow on either side the isthmus_ (i.e. _point of junction between the upper and lower divisions of the lip_). COLUMN _short, with membranous wings much abbreviated_.

This most charming _Odontoglossum_ was discovered in the year 1850 by M. Schlim at that time engaged in exploring the higher regions of New Granada in the service of M. Linden to whose well-known horticultural establishment at Brussels he had the honour of introducing it. The species was seen in flower for the first time in the year 1856 when it appeared at some Horticultural Exhibitions both on the Continent and in London and, as may readily be conceived, attracted universal admiration. Since that time its lovely blossoms have been rarely produced, owing no doubt to its cultivation having been imperfectly understood. It has however, I believe, bloomed occasionally in the collection of the Lord Chancellor of Ireland, and more recently in that of E. McMorland, Esq., of Haverstock Hill, with whom it thrives amazingly, and to whose kindness I am indebted for the opportunity of figuring it. In its native country it is found in a mild climate growing on the ground, or upon rocks in moist and shady situations, and by simply imitating these conditions Mr. McMorland cultivates it with the most perfect success. His plants are kept in pots, with living moss on the surface, and their base resting in pans of water the evaporation from which cannot fail to be highly beneficial. The temperature of the house in which they are grown is that of an ordinary greenhouse, but the air is always humid, and water is freely given because, in consequence of the _open potting_, it can pass as freely away. The plants seem to grow and flower almost all the year round, though their proper and principal flowering-season is in May and June.

_O. phalænopsis_ is entirely distinct from any species of the genus yet in cultivation, but it is allied to a still finer plant detected by Warszewicz in Costa Rica, and called in honour of its discoverer _O. Warszewiczii_ by Professor Reichenbach.

DISSECTIONS.--1. Lip. seen sideways; and 2. Front view of lip: _both magnified_.

Plate IV

PLATE IV.

ODONTOGLOSSUM INSLEAYI, _Lindl_.

INSLEAY'S ODONTOGLOSSUM.

O. (EUODONTOGLOSSUM, _Lindl_.) pseudobulbis ovatis compressis diphyllis, foliis coriaceis oblongo-ensiformibus subundulatis apice recurvis racemo 5-10-floro erecto rigido brevioribus, sepalis petalisque oblongis subæqualibus undulatis infimis connatis, labello angusto obovato retuso basi auriculato, disci cristâ apice bilobâ dilatatâ utrinque in medio dente refracto auctâ, columnæ alis incurvis cirrhatis. (_Lindl. Fol. Orch._)

ONCIDIUM INSLEAYI, _Barker in Bot. Reg._ 1840, _Misc._ 21; _Bateman, Orchid. Mex. et Guat. t. 21_; _Van Houtte, Flore des Serres,_ 1848, _t._ 62.

Habitat in MEXICO, _Barker_; OAXACA, _Loddiges_; 5-6000 _ft._

DESCRIPTION.

PSEUDOBULBS _ovate, slightly furrowed, compressed, bearing 2 leathery, sword-shaped, sharp-pointed_ LEAVES, _which are less than a foot long, and like the rest of the plant of a glaucous hue_. SCAPE _upright, longer than the leaves, bearing from 5 to 10 flowers, usually from 2 to 3 inches in diameter, but sometimes considerably more_. BRACTS _few, about an inch long, occurring at intervals somewhat longer than themselves, and fitting tightly to the stem_. SEPALS _and_ PETALS _nearly equal, oblong, waved, the two lateral ones attached at their base, of a pale yellowish-green tint, crossed throughout their entire length by broad bands of reddish-brown_. LIP _narrow, obovate, turned a little back, of a bright yellow colour, bordered by a belt of red blotches; on its disk are a group of tubercles, mounting two teeth on either side, and with cleft callus in front_. COLUMN-WINGS _bent inwards, and resembling in form the antennæ of an insect_.

This _Odontoglossum_ was originally introduced from Mexico by the late Mr. Barker, of Birmingham, after whose gardener it was named by Dr. Lindley. It flowered with Mr. Barker somewhere about the year 1840, when a figure was prepared for the 'Orchidaceæ of Mexico and Guatemala,' but I had not then the opportunity of examining the plant, nor indeed did I ever actually see it in flower until the autumn of last year (1863) when I happened to meet with the specimen from which the illustration is derived, growing and blooming vigorously in the collection of Dr. Cauty, of Liverpool. The species had, in fact, virtually disappeared from collections during an interregnum of twenty years, and its reappearance is entirely due to the adoption of the rational system of cool treatment now happily prevailing, and under which it may be cultivated with the greatest ease.

In habit _O. Insleayi_ is quite indistinguishable from _O. grande_; and although its flowers are far inferior in beauty to those of that glorious species, they bear a certain sort of resemblance to them in their colouring and general arrangement. The structure is however entirely different, for while _O. grande_ has no bristle-like appendages to its column, and therefore belongs to the section of the genus which has been called XANTHOGLOSSUM by Dr. Lindley, the processes in question are clearly present (see Dissections) in the case of _O. Insleayi_, thereby bringing it under the preceding section, to which the title of EUODONTOGLOSSUM has been given by the same authority. The time and mode of flowering are also different in the two plants, for while in _O. grande_ the flower-scapes appear almost simultaneously with the leaves, and are usually in perfection in July, those of _O. Insleayi_ are not produced until long after the pseudobulbs have been matured, nor do they expand their blossoms until late in the autumn.

As is the case with most of its congeners, there are many varieties of _O. Insleayi_, some of which are much less attractive in their colouring than the one represented in the Plate, while others have much larger flowers, as in the example given in the vignette which is copied from an old woodcut in the Journal of the Horticultural Society. Unfortunately this latter variety has, I greatly fear, been lost to the country, but collectors should endeavour to reintroduce it.

I have already referred to Dr. Cauty's success in the treatment of the subject of the present Plate, but his skill and care are equally conspicuous in the management of a miscellaneous collection of Orchids, which he contrives to grow under circumstances such as would have deterred most men from attempting to grow any plants at all. The house in which he lives is in the very centre of Liverpool, and has in its rear a small back court, such as is usually devoted to dustbins and coal-holes, but where Dr. Cauty has found space for three little Orchid-houses of different temperatures in which the Orchids of different climes are perfectly at home. I can really see no reason why in all large towns--in London more especially--Dr. Cauty's example should not be extensively followed, and the luxury of an Orchid-house be thus brought within the reach of many who now consider it quite beyond their grasp.

DISSECTIONS.--1. Lip, seen sideways; 2. Ditto, seen in front: _both magnified_.

Plate V

PLATE V.

ODONTOGLOSSUM PESCATOREI, _Lindley_.

M. PESCATORE'S ODONTOGLOSSUM.

O. (ISANTHIUM, _Lindl._) pseudobulbis ovatis lævigatis nebulosis diphyllis, foliis loratis planis basi angustatis paniculâ amplâ erectâ multiflorâ 3-plo brevioribus, bracteis minutis, floribus membranaceis, sepalis ovato-oblongis apiculatis leviter undulatis, petalis conformibus latioribus, labello cuspidato subpandurato basi denticulato, cristæ lamellis lateralibus distantibus cartilagineis laceris lineis duabus divergentibus apice denticulatis interjectis, columnæ brevis alis brevibus cuneatis laceris. (_Lindl. Fol. Orch., quibusdam mutatis._)

ODONTOGLOSSUM PESCATOREI, _Lindley, in Paxton's Flower Garden, iii. t. 90_; _Pescatorea, t. 1_; _Warner's Select Orchidaceous Plants, t. 25._

ODONTOGLOSSUM NOBILE, _Reichenbach fil. in Linnæa_, 22, 850.

Habitat in NEW GRANADA, Province of Pamplona, at the height of from 5000 to 6000 feet, _Funck and Schlim_.

DESCRIPTION.

PSEUDOBULBS _from 2 to 3 inches long, of an ovate form, glossy, and mottled with dark brown, usually bearing 2 lorate_ LEAVES, _which are from 6 inches to a foot long, narrowed at the base and sharp at the end, much shorter than the tall upright branched_ PANICLE, _which sometimes rises to the height of 3 feet, and bears from 6 to 60 membranous_ FLOWERS _of a peculiarly delicate texture_. BRACTS _very small_. SEPALS _ovate-oblong, apiculate, slightly waved at the edges, an inch long, white with streaks of rose-colour_. PETALS _similar in form and texture to the sepals, but broader and more curled at the edges, of the purest white_. LIP _inclining to fiddle-shape, pointed, but with the point invisible when looked at in front; towards the base are two short upright tubercles that pass forward into plates diverging from each other, and toothed in front. On either side are two pseudo-wings, irregularly indented, and, like the plates, of a beautiful gold colour, streaked with red. The rest of the lip is white, with the exception of a few irregular blotches of crimson, the number and size and disposition of which vary considerably in different individuals_. COLUMN _short, with short wedge-shaped_ WINGS, _a little indented at the edges_.

This lovely plant was discovered in the year 1847 by MM. Funck and Schlim when on a botanical mission to New Granada, in the service of M. Linden. According to its discoverers, it is not unfrequently met with in the provinces of Pamplona and Ocaña, at an elevation above the sea-level of about 5000 feet, inhabiting the oak forests which--where the climate is mild--clothe the eastern slopes of the glorious Cordillera.

_O. Pescatorei_ flowered with M. Linden for the first time in 1851, and attracted, as well it might, universal admiration. Nothing indeed, even in the beautiful family to which it belongs, can surpass the delicacy of its blossoms, with their charming mixture of rose and white, relieved by a few deep-crimson stains scattered irregularly over the lip. Its habit too is good, and its stately panicle of flowers well-proportioned to the size of the bulbs and leaves. It blooms abundantly in the spring months, and its blossoms continue at least six weeks in perfection. We need not wonder that a plant with such a rare combination of good qualities should have been selected by M. Linden to do honour to his patron the late M. Pescatore, after whom he named it, and in whose sumptuous work ('Pescatorea') it forms the first plate.

Although the species, owing to the difficulty of importing it alive, is still exceedingly rare in this country, it has already flowered in many of the principal collections, especially in those of Mr. Rucker, Mr. Basset, Mr. Day, and Mr. Dawson, of Meadow Bank near Edinburgh. With the last-named gentleman a panicle, with sixty flowers upon it, is now (April, 1864) in full beauty. Mr. Fitch's drawing was taken from an exquisite variety, of which Mr. Day is the fortunate possessor, and which he kindly placed at my disposal for the purpose of being figured in this Work. In the Plate the flower-spike is represented as panicled because such--as in the case of all the other varieties--is no doubt its normal state; as yet however racemes only have been produced.

The treatment recommended for other _Odontoglossa_ (see under Plate I.) will suit _O. Pescatorei_, which is as easily managed as any of the genus.

DISSECTIONS.--1. Lip, seen sideways; 2. Lip, front view: _magnified_.

Plate VI

PLATE VI.

ODONTOGLOSSUM PENDULUM.

PENDENT-FLOWERED ODONTOGLOSSUM.

O. (TRYMENIUM) pseudobulbis subrotundis compressis lævibus diphyllis, foliis oblongo-ligulatis obtusis racemo pendulo multifloro paulo brevioribus, sepalis oblongis obtusis petalisque conformibus subæqualibus, labello unguiculato reniformi basi excavato marginibus callosis, clinandrii alis lateralibus subtruncatis dorsalique rotundato denticulatis.

ODONTOGLOSSUM CITROSMUM, _Lindl. Bot. Reg._ 1842, _Misc._ 68; 1843, _t._ 3; _Fol. Orch. n._ 59; _Warner's Select Orchidaceous Plants_, _t._ 28; _Lemaire_, _Jard. Fl._ _t._ 90.

CUITLAUZINA PENDULA, _La Llace et Lexarza_, _Orch. Mex._ 2; _Reichenbach, fil._, _Bonplandia_, iii. 15, 16.

Habitat in MEXICO, _Lexarza_, _Karwinski_, _Barker_.

DESCRIPTION.

PSEUDOBULBS _clustered together, 2 to 4 inches long, compressed, ovate or almost round, smooth and glossy, 2-leaved_. LEAVES _6 inches to a foot long, leathery, oblong-ligulate, obtuse, rather shorter than the raceme_. RACEME _issuing at an early stage from the young growth, pendulous, many-flowered, rarely branched, longer than the leaves_. SEPALS _and_ PETALS _similar in form, pure white, or in some varieties of a faint blush or rose-colour, frequently sprinkled with minute red dots, oblong, obtuse, about an inch long_. LIP _unguiculate, kidney-shaped, channelled (with the solid edges turned up) along its base, on which there is a patch of yellow, with a few bright dots in the position where a crest (here entirely wanting) is usually placed; the colour of the disk of the lip varies in different specimens, being sometimes entirely white and sometimes tipped with faint rose-colour or deep-crimson_. COLUMN _with upper and lower wings (all of which are toothed), that on the back being rounded and the others truncated_.

Early in the present century, two Spaniards--La Llave and Lexarza by name--settled at the Mexican town of Valladolid, in the fertile province of Mechoacan. They were both attached to botany, but the younger of the two, Lexarza, was so attracted by the beauty of the numerous Orchids of the district that to these he devoted himself with an ardour that would have done honour even to the Lindleys and Reichenbachs of our own day. As the result of his labours a little work--'Orchidianum Opusculum' he modestly styled it--presently made its appearance, wherein about fifty species, all at that time new to science, were described with remarkable accuracy and skill. Among the number there was a plant,--_Cuitlauzina pendula_ he called it,--said to be of surpassing loveliness and to form an undoubtedly new genus the distinctive characters of which were minutely given. As time went on and the rage for Orchids developed itself in Europe, a keen desire was naturally felt by cultivators to add so fine a plant to their lists; but although many collectors visited Valladolid and laid hands upon nearly all the other desirable Orchids described by Lexarza, still nothing was heard of the _Cuitlauzina_, and on the cover of the latest number of Dr. Lindley's 'Folia Orchidacea' its name may be found in the list of genera "unknown to the author." About the same time I myself addressed a letter to the 'Gardeners' Chronicle' urging some adventurous traveller to take ship for New Spain, mainly with the object of instituting another search for the tantalizing plant that had hitherto eluded our grasp. Yet all this while _Cuitlauzina pendula_ was amongst us, and indeed had been an established favourite for upwards of twenty years! But if so, it may well be asked, how came it to pass that it was never recognized? For a full reply to this very natural inquiry I must refer the reader to a most ingenious article in 'Bonplandia' (Jahrg. iii. No. 15, 16), by the younger Reichenbach, to whom all the credit is due of having solved a great botanical puzzle, and proved to demonstration that the _Cuitlauzina pendula_ of Lexarza is none other than the _Odontoglossum citrosmum_ of Lindley.[4]

Under these circumstances, however undesirable the meddling with established names, I scarcely see how, in common justice to Lexarza, we can do otherwise than adopt his specific name of _pendula_, more especially as it happens that the plant to which he originally gave it remains to this day the only one out of nearly a hundred _Odontoglossa_ that has flower-stems which are strictly _pendulous_.

Our gardens contain many varieties of _O. pendulum_, of which, though all are beautiful, some are far superior to others. That represented in the Plate, and which forms a part of Mr. Rucker's collection, is among the best. Mr. Rucker keeps it in his coolest house, where it is perfectly at home, and produces a profusion of its lovely drooping racemes in May and June. It should always be grown in a pot.

DISSECTIONS.--1. Front view of lip and column; 2. Side view of ditto: _magnified_.

Plate VII

PLATE VII.

ODONTOGLOSSUM HASTILABIUM, _Lindley_.

HALBERT-LIPPED ODONTOGLOSSUM.

O. (Isanthium, _Lindl._) pseudobulbis ovatis compressis 1-2-phyllis, foliis oblongis coriaceis, paniculæ exaltatæ ramis spicatis, bracteis cymbiformibus acuminatis ovario æqualibus, sepalis petalisque lineari-lanceolatis acuminatis undulatis, labello apice subrotundo-ovato acuto basi auriculis acutis lanceolatis porrectis aucto, lamellis 5 elevatis, columnæ alis obsolete undulatis, margine versus basin membranaceo dilatato.

ODONTOGLOSSUM HASTILABIUM, _Lindley_, _Orchid. Linden._ _n._ 84; _Hooker_, _Bot. Mag._ _t._ 4272; _Pescatorea_, _t._ 11.

Habitat in NOV. GRANADA: Tesqua, in the province of Pamplona, at the elevation of 2500 feet, April, _Linden_; on the road from Santa Martha to the Sierra Nevada, _Purdie_; Ocaña, January, 5-6000 feet, _Schlim_, _Wagener_, _Blunt_.

DESCRIPTION.

PSEUDOBULBS _compressed, ovate, 3 to 6 inches long, bearing 1 or 2 oblong, leathery_ LEAVES, _not more than a third the length of the scape_. BRACTS _boat-shaped, acuminate, equal in length to the ovary_. SCAPE _very robust, from 2 to 6 feet high, panicled, bearing from 20 to 100 flowers_. SEPALS _and_ PETALS _1½ to 2 inches long, linear-lanceolate, acuminate, slightly waved at the margin, of a pale-green, barred with numerous lines of dark-red or purple_. LIP _halbert-shaped, purple at the base, but white in its upper portion, which is of a roundish-ovate form, pointed at the extremity; its crest consists of 2 outer and 2 interior plates, the taller stretching forward beyond the former, with a linear-oval callosity in the centre_. COLUMN _expanding at its base on either side into an inflexed membrane_.

As this stately _Odontoglossum_ is met with at a much lower elevation than any of its congeners, it is constitutionally less impatient of heat, and has therefore been able to accommodate itself to artificial conditions under which others of its race in former years have pined and died. But although in some parts of New Granada it descends as low as 2500 feet, its more frequent range is 2000 feet higher up the mountains, and it is in such situations that it attains its greatest luxuriance and beauty. Some imported specimens that I was fortunate enough to see last year (1864) at the Clapton Nursery, whither they had been sent by Mr. Blunt, had flower-stems half an inch thick and fully 6 feet high. These were gathered at an elevation of at least 4000 feet above the sea-level and, as they arrived in excellent condition and have been extensively distributed, I have little doubt we shall ere long see cultivated specimens that may vie with the wild ones in stature and magnificence. Its flowering season is the spring or early summer.

The figure was taken in May last from a plant in Mr. Rucker's collection where it is grown at the coolest end of the Cattleya-house.

DISSECTION.--1. Front view of lip and column; 2. Side view of ditto: _magnified_.

Plate VIII

PLATE VIII.

ODONTOGLOSSUM GRANDE, _Lindley_.

GREAT ODONTOGLOSSUM.

O. (XANTHOGLOSSUM) pseudobulbis ovatis compressis diphyllis, foliis coriaceis oblongo-ensiformibus scapo simplici brevioribus, sepalis lanceolatis lateralibus convexis falcatis petalisque oblongis obtusiusculis latioribus subundulatis, labello subrotundo basi auriculato sepalis plus duplo breviore, disci cristâ apice truncatâ bituberculatâ utrinque in medio dente calloque auctâ, columnæ tomentosæ auriculis rotundatis convexis incurvis.

ODONTOGLOSSUM GRANDE, _Lindl. in Bot. Reg._ 1840, _Misc._ 94; _Bateman_, _Orchid. Mex._ _t._ 21; _Morren. Ann. Gand._ i. _t._ 37.

Habitat in GUATEMALA, _Skinner_, _Hartweg_.

DESCRIPTION.

PSEUDOBULBS _compressed, broadly ovate, 2 or 3 inches long, bearing 1 or more frequently_ 2 _leathery, oblong-ensiform_ LEAVES, _which, as well as the pseudobulbs, have always more or less of a pale-glaucous hue_. SCAPE _twice the length of the leaves, 4-8-flowered_. BRACTS _sheathing, acute, half the length of the ovary_. FLOWERS _very large, in some varieties 7 inches or more from the tip of expanded petals_. SEPALS _lanceolate, the lateral ones convex and falcate_. PETALS _wider than the sepals, and, like them, of a rich yellow colour, marked with large deep-cinnamon bands and blotches, oblong, somewhat obtuse at their extremities, and slightly waved at the margin_. LIP _not half the length of the sepals, nearly round, whitish, with a few crimson stains near the crest, which is of rich orange-yellow, marked with deep-orange spots, and is seated on the disk of the lip; it consists of 2 large truncate processes in front, with 2 or 4 small teeth at its base; its auricles turn their edges down until they meet under the disk of the lip, and there grow together_. COLUMN _downy, with a rounded, incurved, convex auricle on either side_.