Part 12

This very distinct variety is one which will become very useful in the decoration of our cool Orchid houses, for as the white-flowered varieties of _Odontoglossum Alexandræ_ and other species are now so numerous, that now before us, being yellow, will produce a good contrast, which we must have in order to make a pleasing display. Our drawing was taken from a fine example in the collection of G. Hardy, Esq., Pickering Lodge, Timperley, near Manchester. We may add that Mr. Hardy’s is one of the largest and best collections in the North of England, since he spares neither trouble nor expense in procuring the best varieties that can be obtained. As a proof of this we may refer to the recent Manchester Whitsuntide flower shows, where Orchids are one of the prominent features, and where Mr. Hardy’s collection has frequently taken high honours.

_Odontoglossum Alexandræ flaveolum_ is a compact free-growing plant, like _O. Alexandræ_ itself, and produces fine drooping flower spikes which we have seen bearing fifteen expanded bright creamy yellow flowers, these continuing in beauty for several weeks. This variety is all the more useful because of its blooming in the winter months when so many of our white Odontoglots are also in flower. The plant requires the same treatment as others of its class. It was found growing on the branches of trees intermixed with _Odontoglossum Alexandræ_, and no doubt, as is probably the case with others of the so-called new varieties, it has originated by intercrossing with some allied species, which may have been growing near to it, and has been flowering at the same time. We hope shortly to give an illustration of the original or typical form of _O. Alexandræ_.

The best material in which to grow the Odontoglots is fibrous peat; they must have good drainage because they want plenty of water during the growing season, in fact the material should always be kept moist. The plants must never be over-potted, but just sufficient root room must be permitted them to secure healthy progression; over-potting, indeed, often becomes dangerous. We find that live sphagnum moss placed on the top of the peat is a great help in their cultivation, as it holds water, and there is always some degree of moisture arising from it; moreover, when it is kept in a healthy growing state it has a very neat and pleasing appearance.

Odontoglossums at Trentham.—The _régime_ adopted at Trentham for growing Cool Orchids, such as Odontoglots, is to give them water most profusely, the cold rain-water which falls from the roof being used summer and winter, and to allow fresh air to circulate freely amongst them at all times, night and day, except in very severe weather. The natural water at Trentham, as does any other water containing lime, will, after a time, kill the Sphagnum used for potting purposes, and this is most inimical to the plants, which never thrive so well as when the Sphagnum keeps fresh and in a growing state. In respect to the Sphagnum Moss used for Orchid growing, it does not appear to be generally known that amongst the different species the best for potting Odontoglots and similar plants is a dense-growing compact kind, whose very compactness gives it a sponge-like consistency, and enables it to suck up and retain water freely. This is what the Odontoglots like.—T. M.

Odontoglossum Roezlii.—A fine example of this showy Orchid has reached us from D. Todd, Esq., Eastwood Park, near Glasgow. The spike was a particularly fine one, bearing well-developed flowers, of which the sepals and petals were white, the lower part of the latter being of a dark magenta, and the lip white, coloured with lines of crimson on the disk. Mr. Todd grows these plants remarkably well, and deserves great credit for his felicitous treatment of them, as few persons are so successful in their cultivation. There is a very good collection of Orchids forming at this place, Mr. Todd being an admirer of good kinds. At the Glasgow exhibitions his fine collection forms one of the greatest attractions of the show.—B. S. W.

LÆLIA ANCEPS DAWSONI. [Plate 44.] Native of Juquila in Mexico.

Epiphytal. _Pseudobulbs_ oblong-ovate, four to five inches long, compressed and two-edged, with prominent angles on the flattened sides so as to render them tetraquetrous, clothed with large membranaceous scales. _Leaves_ one or two from each pseudobulb, oblong-lanceolate acute, coriaceous, smooth and glossy on the surface, of a rich deep green colour. _Scape_ rising from between the leaves at the apex of the pseudobulb, two to three feet long, ancipitous, clothed with carinate bracts, and bearing about three large and charmingly beautiful blossoms. _Flowers_ large, measuring about four and a-half inches across; _sepals_ lanceolate, acuminate, white; _petals_ ovate, acuminate, white; _lip_ prominent, three-lobed: the lateral lobes convolute over the column, white at the margin, stained with rosy purple exteriorly, and marked with numerous bright purple branched lines within the closed portion, where there is also a yellow ridge lined with purple which passes out into the base of the front lobe in the form of three yellow crests; the front lobe oblong acute, recurved at the tip, the base white, the rest of the lobe (about three-fourths of its surface) of a deep rich magenta-purple, evenly but narrowly bordered with white. _Column_ enclosed.

Lælia anceps Dawsoni, _Anderson_, in _Gardeners’ Chronicle_, 1868, 27; _Reichenbach fil._, in _Gardeners’ Chronicle_, 1873, 254; _Warner_, _Select Orchidaceous Plants_, 2 ser., t. 34; _Jennings_, _Orchids_, t. 6; _Floral Magazine_, t. 530; _Williams_, _Orchid Grower’s Manual_, 5 ed., 202.

Lælia anceps Dawsoniana, _Rand_, _Orchids_, 296.

This is one of the most chaste and beautiful Orchids of its class. The type, _Lælia anceps_, has flowers of a rosy lilac and deep purple colour, while the one before us is pure white with the exception of the lip, which is of a rich sparkling purple, and makes a splendid contrast.

This variety was imported many years ago by the Messrs. Low & Co., of Clapton. There have been several other white forms flowered lately, but none to equal the one represented in our plate, the drawing of which was taken from a very fine specimen bearing four spikes, growing in the rich collection of R. B. Dodgson, Esq., of Blackburn; it was the finest plant we have seen in bloom, and the production of so grand a specimen reflects great credit on Mr. Osman, the Gardener, for his skill in cultivation.

_Lælia anceps Dawsoni_ is, like the type form, of compact-growing habit. The pseudobulbs are from four to six inches in height, and the foliage of a light green colour. The flower spike is developed at the tip of the pseudobulb after it has completed its growth, and attains to about two feet in length, generally bearing two or three blossoms at the end; the sepals and petals are pure white, of good form and substance, and the lip is of a dark rosy purple edged with white, the disk orange coloured, the lower part of the throat pale orange veined with crimson, and the upper part white. It generally blooms in January and February, and continues in perfection for two and three weeks.

This variety must be very rare in its native habitat, as we have received importations on several occasions purporting to be this white form, but after the plants have been grown on and flowered, they have invariably proved to be the type with rosy-coloured flowers. This is also the experience of other importers of Orchids.

The plant is best grown in a pot or basket suspended from the roof, where it can obtain all the light possible, which induces it to grow with greater vigour and to flower more freely. It thrives well in the Cattleya house with a moderate supply of water in the growing season, but when at rest less water will suffice. We have found good rough fibrous peat to be the most advantageous material in which to grow it, allowing ample drainage; and when fresh potting material is required the operation of supplying it should be performed just as the plant begins to grow, which is after the blooming season. Always bear in mind that the plants must be kept free from insects.

Propagation is effected by dividing the plant just as it begins to break into growth. In performing the operation two or three pseudobulbs should be detached from the plant, having a leading bulb; when taken off at this stage the plants soon become established.

Dendrobium Wardianum.—A fine variety of this grand Dendrobe comes from D. Alroy Salamon, Esq., Clapham Park. The specimen has very large flowers, four and a-half inches in diameter, and of great substance. The sepals and petals are one and a-quarter inch broad, of a pure white, heavily tipped with rich magenta; the lip is very large, and also heavily blotched with magenta, the throat being rich orange with two dark brown eye-like spots. These flowers were from an imported plant, and we are curious to see whether it will produce equally fine flowers from the home made growths. If so we shall hope to figure it at some future time, as in the state in which it has just bloomed, it is certainly one of the finest and best forms of this splendid species which we have met with. It is also a free grower.—B. S. W.

Dendrobium Falconeri.—Mr. Priest, Gardener to the Marquis of Lothian, has sent us some fine flowers of this favourite Dendrobe. He informs us that the plant from which the flowers were taken has 150 blossoms upon it. This must be a remarkably fine specimen, and well cultivated, to produce flowers in such profusion.—H. W.

CATTLEYA TRIANÆ. [Plate 45.] Native of Colombia.

Epiphytal. _Stems_ oblong, club-shaped, furrowed, about a foot in height, clothed with whitish membranaceous sheaths. _Leaves_ solitary, coriaceous, ligulate-oblong, recurved at the tip, of a deep green colour, six to eight inches long. _Scape_ two or three-flowered, proceeding from a terminal oblong compressed brownish bract or sheath, about two inches long. _Flowers_ large, variable in colour, from white to a dilute delicate tint of rosy purple in the typical form, the lip being of a rich magenta; _sepals_ three inches or more in length, oblong-lanceolate, plane, of a delicate blush or pallid tint of rosy purple; _petals_ of the same colour, rhombeo-ovate, retuse, crispulate at the anterior edge; _lip_ convolute at the base, where it is of a pale purplish mauve, the front lobe obovate, rounded and crimped in the anterior part, where it is bilobed, wholly covered with crimson-magenta, exceedingly rich and brilliant, the disk marked with a broad rich orange-yellow bilobed blotch. _Column_ club-shaped, bearing at the tip a pair of sickle-shaped wings.

Cattleya Trianæ, _Linden and Reichenbach fil._, in _Mohl and Schlechtendal’s Botanische Zeitung_, xviii., 74 (1860); _Reichenbach fil._, in _Walpers’ Annales Botanices Systematicæ_, vi., 315.

Cattleya labiata Lindigiana, _Karsten_—fide _Reichenbach fil._

Cattleya labiata Trianæ, _Duchartre_, _Journal de la Société Impériale d’Horticulture_, 1860, 369—fide _Reichenbach fil._

Epidendrum labiatum, _var._ Trianæ, _Reichenbach fil._, in _Walpers’ Annales Botanices Systematicæ_, vi., 315.

This very charming species of _Cattleya_ was first obtained from Colombia for European gardens, in 1856, by Mr. Linden, to whom we are indebted for so many choice introductions amongst exotic plants. It is one of the best and most useful of the species, especially for winter decoration, and though very variable as regards the tinting of the flowers in the many distinct forms which have been imported, it is always of a brilliant and strikingly beautiful appearance, owing to the rich colouring displayed on the lip. The shades of colour in the several kinds varies from pure White through blush white and pale pinkish rose to a pale shade of deep rose, the upper lobe of the lip being of a rich magenta-crimson.

There are, as we have just said, many forms of _Cattleya Trianæ_. That which we now figure we consider to be a very good representative of the typical form of the species. Our drawing was taken from a very fine specimen grown in the beautiful collection of R. B. Dodgson, Esq., of Beardwood, Blackburn, in which many forms of this lovely species occur, as we have already intimated under Plate 40. We have also mentioned Mr. Osman as being a most successful cultivator of Orchidaceous plants.

_Cattleya Trianæ_ is a free-growing as well as a free-blooming species. It has dark green foliage, and attains the height of about fifteen inches, producing its blossoms during the winter months, after the growths are completed. The sepals and petals are of a pale pink or delicate tint of rosy purple; the lip is of a bright magenta, margined with delicate rose-pink, the edge being fringed, and the disk marked with a rich orange-coloured two-lobed blotch. The flowers are produced in February and March, and continue for several weeks in perfection, provided they are kept free from moisture, which if it lodges upon them will cause them to become spotted, and destroy their beauty. It is an excellent plan to place the plants when in bloom in a drier house than that in which they are grown, and to bestow all possible care upon their preservation. Of themselves they form a fine group of Cattleyas, there being so many distinct varieties, of colours such as to make them thoroughly useful for decorative purposes. By their agency our Orchid houses may be kept gay for several months in the most dreary time of the year, for when there is a number of plants they may be flowered in succession. The plants can now be bought at a reasonable price, as, in consequence of the large importations of them, they have become plentiful.

_Cattleya Trianæ_ requires the same treatment as _C. labiata_, _C. Mossiæ_, and others of the same class, all these plants being, indeed, regarded by some botanists as varieties of one species. For their successful growth the use of good fibrous peat and sphagnum moss, with ample drainage, are requisite, and they should be kept well elevated above the pot rim. They will also thrive well suspended from the roof in baskets, and also on blocks of wood, but in these cases they require more attention as to watering, in order to keep them moist at the roots.

Cattleyas thrive best when placed under the influence of strong light, but they must be shaded from bright sunshine. This _régime_ induces them to blossom more freely, indeed, if the bulbs are not well ripened good results cannot be anticipated. The plants require a plentiful supply of water during the growing season, by which we mean that they should be kept constantly moist about the roots. When their growth is completed less may be applied, merely enough to keep them in a plump state. When the flower spikes begin to appear more water should again be given, as it will induce the buds to swell more freely, in consequence of which the flowers will be finer.

Orchids from Dr. Paterson.—This gentleman has been kind enough to send us a grand spike of his _Vanda tricolor Patersoni_. It is a fine form of this noble Orchid, the flowers being of large size, and well marked, the lip beautifully coloured with rich magenta. A nice spike of the beautiful _Aërides nobile_ came in the same parcel, and a curious _Eria_ with white flowers, named _stellata_ (the true _stellata_ has dull pale yellow flowers) on account of the star-shaped form of its blossoms.—B. S. W.

MILTONIA CUNEATA. [Plate 46.] Native of Brazil.

Epiphytal. _Pseudobulbs_ ovate-oblong, compressed, light green, diphyllous. _Leaves_ ligulate-oblong, striate, somewhat carinate beneath, of a cheerful green colour. _Scape_ radical, erect, bearing a five to eight flowered raceme, each of the pedicels having at its base a whitish glumaceous triangular bract about half as long as the ovary. _Flowers_ large and showy, with a broad flat white lip; _sepals_ oblong-lanceolate, narrowed to the base, of a deep chocolate-purple with a yellowish green tip on which is a dark spot, the margins undulated, the lateral ones connate at the base; _petals_ similar in form, size, and colour; _lip_ white, with a pink tinge, and one or two chocolate spots near the base, wedge-shaped, with a narrow claw-like base and a broad flat anterior expanded portion, somewhat repand on the margin, and furnished on the disk with two raised plates or lamellæ. _Column_ short, creamy white, bidentate on the middle portion, the anther-bed cucullate, membranaceous, denticulate, retuse.

Miltonia cuneata, _Lindley_, _Botanical Register_, 1844, misc. 28; 1845, t. 8; _Id._, _Folia Orchidacea_, art. _Miltonia_, No. 8; _Reichenbach fil._, _Xenia Orchidacea_, i. 131; _Moore_, _Illustrations of Orchidaceous Plants_, art. _Miltonia_, 7 t. 2; _Lemaire_, _L’Illustration Horticole_, t. 237; _Williams_, _Orchid Grower’s Manual_, 5 ed., 223.

Miltonia speciosa, _Klotzsch_, in _Otto and Dietrich’s Allgemeine Gartenzeitung_, xvii. 129.

Oncidium speciosum, _Reichenbach fil._, _MSS._; _Id._, _Walpers’ Annales Botanices Systematicæ_, vi. 761.

This genus of Orchids is not a very extensive one, but among the species which are known there are some beautiful plants of distinct and striking character. The species which we now represent is a very pretty one, which we are pleased to have the opportunity of introducing to the notice of our readers. The specimen figured was grown in the fine collection of W. Cobb, Esq., of Sydenham, who is a great lover of Orchids, and makes it a study to procure the best kinds and cultivate them in the best possible manner.

_Miltonia cuneata_ was introduced by the Messrs. Rollisson, of Tooting, about the year 1843, and first flowered with them in the spring of 1844. It is a free-growing plant, with light green foliage, which grows about a foot in height, and produces its flowers in erect racemes, seven or often more together. The sepals and petals are chestnut-brown, tipped with greenish yellow, and the lip is broad and of a creamy white colour. The flowers are produced in February and March, and last for several weeks in beauty.

This _Miltonia_ requires the heat of the Cattleya house, and thrives in good fibrous peat; it must be well drained in order that the superfluous moisture may pass off, as the plant dislikes stagnant water about the roots. In the growing season a moderate supply of water may be given at the roots, but less will suffice when the growth is completed. We find the Miltonias to require more shade than most Orchids. Their leaves are thin in texture, and consequently are soon injured, which makes it necessary to pay strict attention to the requirements of the plants, as while too much sun would dry up the foliage, too much moisture about it would cause it to go spotted.

They are propagated by dividing the bulbs, leaving two old ones and a growth in front. These divided portions should be potted in small pots until they get well established, and always at all times be kept free from insects. The white scale will sometimes attack them, and do much injury if not promptly removed.

Lælia elegans prasiata.—From E. Harvey, Esq., Aigburth, Liverpool, comes a spike of a grand form of this fine _Lælia_. The flowers are six inches across, the sepals and petals purplish rose, the lip rich magenta. This is quite a distinct form, and worthy of a place in every collection. Accompanying this was a spike of _Scuticaria Hadweni_, var. _pardalina_, described some time ago in the _Gardeners’ Chronicle_.—B. S. W.

Dendrobium nobile (three-lipped).—Mr. Knight, Gardener to the Right Hon. W. H. Smith, M.P., Greenlands, Henley-on-Thames, sends us a curious form of this grand old Orchid, with three lips, two of the lips taking the place of the petals of the normal flowers, and being marked and coloured in a similar manner to the ordinary lip. In addition, the flower was deliciously scented. We do not suppose that this variation will be constant, being more probably a malformation.—B. S. W.

Bollea cœlestis as a block plant.—When visiting the establishment of Messrs. Vervaet et Cie., of Gand, Belgium, in April last, we were surprised to see this lovely Orchid quite at home on a block, growing luxuriantly, and rooting in all directions; the growths were very strong, and as healthy as any we have seen. Is it possible that this may be the secret of success with this Orchid? Being an epiphyte, found growing on the limbs of trees, we should imagine this treatment would be the most natural for it. It is evident that pot culture does not suit it, as it frequently dies off after two or three years.—H. W.

ODONTOGLOSSUM ALEXANDRÆ. [Plate 47.] Native of Bogota, New Grenada.

Epiphytal. _Pseudobulbs_ oblong-ovate, compressed, often stained brownish purple, two-leaved. _Leaves_ ligulate-oblong, acute, channelled toward the base, of a pleasing light green colour. _Scape_ radical, supporting a many-flowered raceme, or in the more vigorous plants a panicle equalling or exceeding the leaves, and having small acute bracts at the base of the pedicels. _Flowers_ exquisitely chaste and beautiful, white, tinted with rose, and variously spotted, fully three inches across; _sepals_ ovate-lanceolate, acuminate, entire or toothed, white, suffused more or less with a delicate tint of rose-pink; _petals_ in the best forms, broadly ovate and much undulated, entire or toothed, white, rather less deeply tinted with pink; _lip_ shorter than the petals, oblong-ovate, the margin much crisped and the shortly acuminate apex recurved, white, with a rich yellow stain down the centre, and marked with reddish brown radiating lines on the disk, and with one or two (or in some forms many) rich red-brown spots or blotches half-way down, the disk also bearing a bilamellate crest. _Column_ arcuate, club-shaped, chestnut-red.

Odontoglossum Alexandræ, _Bateman_, in _Gardeners’ Chronicle_, 1864, 1083; _Id._, _Proceedings of the Royal Horticultural Society_, iv., 186; _Id._, _Monograph of Odontoglossum_, t.t. 14, 19; _Hooker_, _Botanical Magazine_, t. 5691 (var. _Trianæ_), t. 5697 (var. _guttatum_); _Jennings_, _Orchids_, t. 26; _Warner_, _Select Orchidaceous Plants_, 2 ser., t. 23 (var. _Warneri_); _Floral Magazine_, t. 343; _Williams_, _Orchid Grower’s Manual_, 5 ed., 228.

Odontoglossum Bluntii, _Reichenbach, fil._, in _Mohl and Schlechtendal’s Botanische Zeitung_, “n. 53, Dec. 64;” _Van Houtte_, _Flore des Serres_, t. 1652.

Odontoglossum crispum, _Lindley_, in _Annals of Natural History_, xv., 256; _Id._, _Folia Orchidacea_, art. _Odontoglossum_, No. 57; _Reichenbach fil._, in _Walpers’ Annales Botanices Systematicæ_, vi., 845.