Part 5

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.

Mr. Skinner was the fortunate discoverer of this noble Odontoglossum which to this day remains unsurpassed, even among all the fine additions that have of late years been made to the genus. Mr. Skinner found it in a "barranca" (or dark ravine) in the environs of the city of Guatemala, and so closely had it lain concealed that even his quick eye failed to detect it until long after he had, as he thought, exhausted the district of all its finest Orchids. It was afterwards met with in other localities, but invariably in a climate of which the ordinary range of temperature lay between 60° and 70°, and in situations where it was secure of abundant moisture and constant shade. In these peculiarities of its natural habitat the conditions of its successful cultivation are clearly pointed out; yet, strange to say, they were unheeded for twenty years, during which the plants in our Orchid-houses were always in a feeble and sickly state, rarely producing more than two or three flowers on a scape, while the imported specimens showed that at least double that number was the proper quota. Now, however, the case is different, for with a mild temperature and moderate shade they are found to be managed with the most perfect ease and to grow with a vigour that could never have been exceeded in their native wilds. In proof of this we need only turn to the vignette, which is copied from a beautiful photograph kindly sent to me by Joshua Saunders, Esq., and which represents a specimen of O. grande as it appeared when flowering in his collection at Clifton. As a further evidence of the ease with which the plant may be grown I may mention that under the care of Major Trevor Clarke it has been induced to bloom in the open air during the summer months. This, however, must only be looked upon as an interesting experiment and is not recommended for imitation. O. grande usually flowers in July or August, when the season's growth is nearly completed; after this it should be allowed to rest. Mr. Fitch's drawing was taken from a handsome variety that flowered last year (1864) in a north house at Knypersley, and which had been given me by Mr. Skinner.

DISSECTIONS.--1. Front view of column and labellum; 2. Side view of ditto: slightly magnified.

Plate IX

PLATE IX.

ODONTOGLOSSUM NÆVIUM, Lindley.