CALANTHE 



CALATHEA 



619 



lobed than in the type. A.F. 6:655. Var. Regnieri 

 Wflliamsii, Hort. (C. Williamsii, Hort.). Sepals 

 white, sometimes shaded pink; petals white, rose- 

 bordored; lip deep rose. 



veratrifdlia, R. Br. Lvs. oblong-lanceolate, about 2 

 ft. long, from a creeping rhizome: fls. white, in dense 

 corymbose racemes; petals obovate-spatulate; sepals 

 obovate-oblong; labellum 4-parted, the anterior lobes 

 usually broader than the posterior or basal lobes. 

 Blooms May-July. Malaya. B.M. 2615. 



Veitchii, Lindl. Fig. 735. A hybrid between C. rosea 

 and C. vestita: fls. rose-colored; labellum with white 

 spot near the base. Winter-flowering. There is also a 

 white variety. This hybrid was raised by Veitch, in 

 1856. B.M. 5375. Gng. 14:134. A.F. 25:1093. Forms 

 of this are var. bella, Hort., with pink fls.; var. nigro- 

 oculata gigantea, Hort., with stout sts., the fls. white 

 with an eye of reddish crimson; var. Sandhurstiana, 

 Hort., with crimson fls.; var. Sedenii, Hort., with deep 

 rose fls.; var. superba, Hort., has richer color. 



Masftca, Lindl. Scape 2 ft. long, with large, many- 

 ribbed, dark Ivs.: fls. 1 in. across, the segms. overlap- 

 ping, deep violet, fading to lilac, the lip deep violet- 

 purple. Summer and autumn. N. India. B.M. 4541. 

 Var. grandifldra, Hort., is of greater size throughout. 



C. burmdnica, Rolfe. Fls. mauve-purple, with yellow creat. 

 Burma. C. Clive, Hort. (C. Veitchii X?). C. Codfcsonii, Hort. 

 (C. Veitchii XC. vestita luteo-oculata). Fls. pure white, except a 

 blotch of yellow in the throat and a few lemon-yellow lines on lip. 

 C. Cornelius Vanderbilt, Hort. (C. vestita rubro-oculata X C. 

 Veitchii). C. discolor, Lindl. Sts. leafy: fls. with claret sepals and 

 petals and a 3-lobed white lip flushed rose. Japan. G.C. III. 35: 

 389. B.R. 26:55. C. Eyermannii, Hort. (C. vestita rubro- 

 oculata x C. Veitchii). Racemes shorter than in C. Veitchii, 

 with larger, more spreading white fls. with a reddish 

 blotch at the base of the lip. G.F. 4:17. C. gigas, 

 Hort. (C. grandiflora X C. Regnieri). Fls. nearly 3 in. 

 across, borne on a st. over 5 ft. tall; sepals 

 petals milk-white, the latter tinged rose at 

 base and apex; lip 4 lobed, bright rose, 

 striated with pale rose or white, a reddish 

 crimson blotch at the base. C. Hennisii, 

 Loher. Similar to C. vestita. Philippines. G.C. 

 III. 46:34, desc. C. madagascariensis, Rolfe. 

 Sepah and petals rosy mauve; lip dull ma- 

 genta with white spot at base. G.C. III. 28: 



335, desc. C. McWilliamsii, Hort.=(?). C. Orpeti&na, Hort. C 

 ,ri, Rolfe. Sepals white; petals much 

 11 purple, changing finally to orange. 



GEO. V. NASH.f 



only by constant syringing and damping down amongst 

 the plants; therefore the need for abundance of drain- 

 age is apparent, whether they are grown in pots or 

 planted out in a border. It is only by planting them out 

 with a free root-run that calatheas may be had in their 

 full beauty; and when so grown a collection of these 

 plants forms one of the most beautiful examples of tropi- 

 cal foliage. Particular attention should be given to 

 protecting them from all strong sunshine, the thin text- 

 ure of their leaves rendering them specially liable to 

 damage from this cause. Most of the species are of 

 easy culture providing the above conditions are fol- 

 lowed. Many of them spread rapidly and make quick 

 growth; therefore they require to be potted or over- 

 hauled every spring, but when once well established, 

 they may be fed with liquid manure once a week. 

 Propagation is by dividing the crowns, or by cuttings 



summitenxe, Hort. C. Wdrj 

 narrower, white; lobed lip 

 Madagascar. 



CALATHEA (Greek for basket, the application not 

 apparent). Marantdcese. Perennial foliage plants of 

 warmhouses, with maranta-like leaves arising in a 

 tuft from the crown. 



Sepals 3, free and equal; corolla tubular, with 3 

 spreading lobes; stamens 3, petal-like, 2 sterile, and 1 

 bearing an anther on its side (compare Canna). From 

 Maranta the genus differs chiefly in technical charac- 

 ters. In Maranta the fr. is 1-seeded, in Calathea 

 usually 3-seeded; in the former the fl. -clusters are 

 branched and few-fld., in Calathea usually capitate 

 or cone-like. Of calatheas there are more than 100 

 species, mostly of Trop. Amer., but a few of trop. Afr. 

 The Ivs., for which the plant is grown, are variously 

 marked with shades of green, red, brown, yellow, and 

 white. They spring from the very base of the short 

 st., just above the rhizome, the rhi/omes themselves 

 more or less tuberiferous (Fig. 736). Monogr. by 

 Schumann in Engler's Pflanzenreich, hft. 11 (1902). 



All the calatheas thrive in a moist tropical house 

 in a temperature that does not go below 65 F., with 

 a rise during the day to 90 or 95 F. For general pur- 

 poses, the best compost in which to grow them is made 

 of equal parts of good turfy loam, leaf -mold and sand. 

 Some of the more delicate species are best grown in 

 leaf -mold and sand only. Stagnation of the soil must 

 be particularly avoided by abundance of drainage, as 

 they require to be kept rather moister at the roots than 

 most stove plants. The close moist atmospherical 

 conditions that these plants require can be secured 



40 



in those kinds that 

 make secondary 

 growths, these cut- 

 tings being taken just 

 below the nodes. In 

 just before growth begins, is a 

 good time for this work. Tubers 

 may be used, if produced. 



In Florida, calat'heas grow 

 exceedingly well in shady lath 

 plant-houses. The soil should 

 be leaf -mold and very old cow- 

 manure added to the original 

 natural soil. Commercial fer- 

 tilizer should never be used. 

 In very cold weather they 

 should be covered with pine 

 branches and leaves or pine- 

 needles. All the kinds soon 

 form very beautiful clumps. All of them need much 

 water while they are growing, but not in the winter if 

 they are planted out in beds. Each spring they must 

 be replanted in fresh soil. Then the clumps may be 

 divided, or if large specimen plants are desired, they 

 may be left intact. (Nehrling.) 



The calatheas are a confusing group to the horti- 

 culturist, because the differences that he knows lie 

 mostly in characters of leaf and habit and these are 

 variable. The size of leaf and plant depends much on 

 the treatment, and in some species the juvenile leaves 

 are different from the mature ones. The coloration 

 of the foliage depends much on the age, and the way 

 in which the plants are grown. However, we may 

 roughly throw the species into two groups, the small- 



