* 
EPIDENDRUM VITELLINUM MAJUS. 
[PLATE 4. | 
Native of Mexico. 
Epiphytal. Pseudobulbs ovate, clustered, two-leaved. Leaves oblong-ligulate, acute, 
‘sheathing at the base. Scape erect, six to nine inches high, racemose, many-flowered, 
longer than the leaves. Flowers brilliant orange-scarlet, nearly two inches across, 
much larger than the typical form; sepals spreading; petals flat, elliptic, somewhat 
broader than the _ sepals, spreading, lanceolate, acute; lp clawed, linear, abruptly 
acute, with a bifoveate (two-holed) callosity below the middle, deep yellow passing 
to orange-scarlet at the tip. Column parallel with and nearly half the length of 
the lip, to which it is adnate towards the base, the anther-bed marginate in front. 
EPIDENDRUM VITELLINUM MaJus, of gardens. : 
_ The original form of Epidendrum vitellinum, of which a good though pale- 
«coloured figure will be found in the Botanical Register for 1840 (t. 35), is one of 
the most brilliant of the Hpidendrew, on account of its remarkable fiery colour, 
which makes it invaluable for contrasting with other subjects, both in the Orchid-house, 
in the jardiniére, or in the bouquet. The same colour, or something near it, occurs in 
a few other Orchids, which are equally valuable from a decorative point of view, 
as for example in Lelia cinnabarina, Lelia harpophylla, and Ada aurantiaca, all 
of them being plants, which, under favourable conditions, yield a brilliant effect. The 
‘subject of our plate has the advantage of producing larger and more showy flowers 
than its type, and to this extent is the more desirable of the two for the house- 
stage, or exhibition table. 
Until within the last few years this plant was very rare, but having been 
imported in large quantities it is now to be found in every collection, however 
limited its pretensions. The bright colour of its orange-scarlet flowers, produced in 
‘considerable numbers on upright spikes, renders it a most striking and distinct species. 
We have known the flowers to last as long as twelve weeks in perfection; in fact, 
we have on several occasions exhibited a plant of it at as many as six different 
successive exhibitions. Mixed with other Orchids it has a most telling effect; and a 
well-flowered specimen once seen by a novice is likely to produce a lasting impression. 
In the Broomfield collection it is used very largely in association with Odonto- 
glossums, and the effect of the orange-scarlet flowers amongst the numerous spikes 
of Odontoglossum Alexandre, and other species, is charming. 
