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MBH 





Plate XXXII. 



L.ELIA PUMILA. 



\ charming dwarf-habited stove epiphyte, of groat beauty, remarkable for its richly-coloured and distinctly-margined 

 lip. The stem* or pscudobulbs are short, oblong, and slightly furrowed, each bearing a solitary leaf, Tho 

 leave* are oblong, liuitvolute* acute, of a deep green colour, and very thick texture. The flower* are solitary, 

 rarely two together, from the top of tho stem, and are large for the size of tho plant. The scpaU are oblong, 

 acute, the upper one recurved ; the petals are broader, oval-oblong, blunt and somewhat wavy, both sepals and 

 petal* beine; of a deep purplish lilac or mauve colour; the lip is obovatc, with the sides rolled in over lite 

 column, whitish with a rich purple crimson blotch near the front, while the middle lobe is flat, roundi»h t 

 cmnrgiiinU-, of a rich pure crimson, with a narrow regular border of white. The column is two-eared at the 

 apex. 

 Lsua ilmila, Rctehenlachjii, Van Hwttts Flore tics Serres, is. 102, 

 Cattmsya ruMiLA, Hooker, Botanical Magazine* t. 36SC: Lindleg y Botanical JfryiVfrr; 1844, t 5, 



CaTTLEVA MAKGINATA, o/ gardens. 



Blktia pumila, BeichcnbachjiL Walperi Annates Botamces Systematica, vi. 421. 



The Cattleya marginata of gardens, according to a statement of Dr. Lindlcy, made thirty years since, in 

 the Botanical ItegUtt y r y is a Brazilian plant, which had been about that time imported from that country, 

 and which luul appeared under that name in the French gardens. The name was unexceptionable, sine*; it 

 indicated at once the chief peculiarity of the flower, namely, the well-defined and conspicuous border to the 

 lip. It had, however, been previously uamed Calilejfa pumi/a by Sir W. i looker, and according to 

 botanical law, this name must be adopted on the score of priority. Modem botanists have unanimously 

 transferred the plant to the genus Larlia, a genua which includes within its limits species which produce 

 some of the largest and most beautiful flowers found amongst cultivated Orchids, and though the species 

 here represented cannot lay claim to rank amongst the largest-flowered of the Ltclias, it will certainly 

 hold its own when beauty is mode the ground of comparison. 



The plant is of a remarkable dwarf, close, and compact habit, seldom exceeding six or seven inches in 

 height, so that it is never likely to become too large even for those who have the most limited space for the 

 accommodation of their floral pets. It should always be grown upon a block of wood, surrounded with 

 sphagnum, or in a small wooden basket, and be suspended from the roof. It is a Brazilian plant, and 

 requires a considerable amount of heat and moisture during the growing season, but in winter a moderate 

 supply of both will suffice. The winter treatment is, however, as we think, the rock upon which many 

 Orchid growers founder. We have already indicated that it is a small and slender plant, and in 

 consequence of this peculiarity of its constitution it cannot withstand the drying off to which many of 

 its relatives should be subjected, simply because its stems or peeudobulbs, have so little substance. 

 Hence the necessity that it should be carefully nursed through the resting season, &o that when again 

 excited into growth it may produce flowering shoots, which cannot he the case, if the pseudobulbs are allowed 

 to shrivel in the least degree during the winter. 





