1674 



SGBRALIA 



SOBRALIA 



or with longitudinal ridges; column slender; pollinia 

 8. About 30 species, inhabiting the mountains of 

 Mexico and tropical America. The following account 

 comprises the species that appear to be in the American 

 trade, but others are to be found in the collection of 

 fanciers, as /S. Lilinstrum, Lindl., with large white 

 yellow-veined fls. ; S. Wilsoni, Rolfe, with large white 

 fls. shaded with rose and spotted with purple ; also 

 various forms of »S'. macrantha, as vars. nana, pur- 

 purea and alblda. Heinrich Hasselbring. 



Sobralias are charming orchids, and where room can 

 be given to large plants they well repay the space and 

 care they require. Many of them, to be .sure, are very 

 fugacious in their blooming, some lasting only a day, 

 but nearly all of them make up for this by a succession 

 of flowers which is more or less rapid. The individual 

 blossoms are of a size to equal almost any orchid flower, 

 and quite as graceful in their general appearance — far 



2332. Sobralia macrantha (X J^). 



more graceful than most Cattleyas even. Where space 

 for large and bushy plants can be afforded, some of the 

 Sobralias will prove most charming plants, having the 

 double advantage of presenting in a well-grown plant 

 not only beautiful blossoms but a subject which is thor- 

 oughly good-looking as a foliage plant. They also have 

 the added advantage of being, in most instances, of 

 rather easy culture. Given a suitable soil and a liberal 

 supply of water they are almost sure to grow and bloom, 

 although they will do better if they are given their 

 time for rest, when less water is allowed without per- 

 mitting the material about the roots ever to become 

 quite dry. 



The flowers of many Sobralias are very fugacious, 

 some lasting only one day, but nearly all of the varie- 

 ties make up for this fault by a succession of flowers 

 more or less rapid through a blooming period of, in 

 some instances, many weeks. In size the individual 

 blossoms vary from that of an ordinary Cattleya labiata 

 to one scarcely an incli and a half across, and the plants 

 themselves present as great variety, ranging from such 

 as S. frayrans, which grows less than a foot higli, to 

 that giant of the tribe ;S'. Cnltleya, which will reach a 

 height of nearly ten feet. They also give as much va- 



riety in their coloring, ranging from a shade of laven- 

 der which is almost a blue through different shades of 

 purple to the rich claret color of iS'. Lowii, and from 

 yellow to the purest white. F. J. Le Moyne. 



A. Fls. white {see also IVos. 4 and 6)..l. leucoxantha 

 AA. Fls. yellow. 



B. Height 2 ft 2. xantholeuca 



BB. Height 1 ft 3. fragrans 



AAA. Fls. chiefly purple or rose 4. macrantha 



5. Brandtiae 



6. Fenzliana 



7. Holfordii 



8. Cattleya 



9. Lowii 



1. leucoxdntha, Reichb. f. Stems tufted, 3 ft. high,, 

 spotted: Ivs. 4-C in. long, lanceolate, acuminate: fls. 

 6-7 in. across; sepals linear-lanceolate, spreading and 

 recurved, white; petals shorter, oblong, undulate above, 

 also pure white; labellum with a ventricose tube; limb 

 large, circular, notched in front and the margin irregu- 

 larly lobulate and wavy, throat golden yellow, with a 

 few brownish stripes. Aug. Costa Rica. B.M. 7058. 

 R.B. 23:205. J.H. 111.33:77. 



2. xantholetiea, Reichb. f. Stems about 2 ft. high, 

 tufted: Ivs. spreading and drooping, lanceolate, 6-7 in. 

 long, with speckled sheaths: fls. solitary, lemon-yellow,, 

 with a deeper shade on the lip: sepals linear-lanceolate, 

 spreading and recurved ; petals similar but shorter; 

 blade of the labellum orbicular, crisp and undulate, 

 margin crenate. Guatemala. B.M. 7.3.32. R.H. 1890:12. 

 G.C. III. 5:9. Gn. 22:366. -A species with flowers about 

 as large as S. macrantha , but plants of more compact 

 habit. 



3. fra^ans, Lindl. A small species with stems about 

 1 ft. high: Ivs. 1 or 2, oblong-lanceolate, 4-5 in. long: 

 fls. 2-3 on a long peduncle, about 2 in. long, pale sulfur- 

 yellow ; sepals (ililonti-. s]ii-('ailiiig; petals similar but 

 erect; middle lobe of the lalxllutn timbriate on the mar- 

 gin and having many flmbriated crests. Columbia. 

 B.M. 4882. -One of the smallest of the genus. 



4. macrdntha, Lindl. Fig. 2332. Stems tufted, reed- 

 like, 4-7 ft. high, leafy all the way up: Ivs. broadly lan- 

 ceolate to oblong-lanceolate, long-pointed, 8-10 in. long: 

 fls. several at the ends of the stems, rose-purple, with 

 the front of the labellum deep purple; sepals linear- 

 oblong, 4>2 in. long, reflexed and twisted ; petals 

 broader, oblong, wavy above; labellum 5 in. long, with 

 the expanded portion almost circular, 3 in. across and 

 2-lobed at the apex, very wavy; tube long, whitish with- 

 in, with a yellow stain in the throat and several thin 

 yellow ridges. May -July. Mexico and Guatemala. 

 B.M. 4446. F.S. 7:669. P.M. 14:241 (var.). G.M. 

 31:559. Var. Kienastiana (var. alha) has white fls. 



5. Brdndtiae, Krzl. Stems 3 ft. high: Ivs. lanceolate, 

 acuminate, 8 in. long: fls. purple-rose, paler outside, 

 with the labellum darker and having a yellow disk ; 

 sepals linear; petals twice as wide; middle lobe of the 

 labellum very broad, divided into 2 diverging, rather 

 acute lobes; anther-bed with a long recurved horn on 

 each side. Resembles a medium-sized S. macrantha, 

 distinguished by the long horns of the column, and 

 black spots (not hairs) on the leaf -sheaths. S. Amer. 



6. Fenzliana, Reichb. f. Stems slender: sheaths 

 blackish, asperulate: Ivs. oblong, acutish: fls. rose- 

 colored; sepals oblong, acute; petals obovate-cuneate, 

 three-fourths as long as the sepals; labellum spreading, 

 front portion ovate, notched, crenulate; horns of the 

 column equaling the anther. Nicaragua. — Var. dlba, 

 Hort., has pure white flowers. 



7. H61fordii, Sander. Plants of dwarf habit: fls. rose- 

 carmine, deeper in the lip, shading to whitish in the 

 throat. Habitat not stated by Sander. 



8. Cattleya, Reichb. f. Stem stout: Ivs. oblong, acu- 

 minate, plaited, bearing several lateral chisters of 

 strong, thick fls. of a firm fleshy texture, with purplish 

 brown sepals and petals and a puri)lish lip, with a 

 white column and three yellow lines over the center of 

 the lip. Colombia. 



