A Monograph of Odontoglossum

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.

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.