CALANTHE VESTITA WILLIAMSII. 



[Plate 134.] 



Native of Eastern Asia. 



Terrestrial. Pseudohulhs broadly ovate or ovate-obloiw, often five to eiffht incl 



long with a constriction above the middle, bluntly angular, in age furrowed, pale 

 grey or ash colour, partially sheathed with membranaceous scales, and terminating in 

 the remains of the previous set of leaves. Leaves large, broadly lanceolate acuminate, 

 a loot long, of herbaceous texture, and a pale green colour, nervosely striate, deciduoiif^, 

 appearing after the decay of the flowers, two or more from each bulb. Scapes rndiVal, 

 tall pale green, villous with spreading hairs, and having a few sheathing glabrous 

 scales below, terminating in a raceme of fifteen to twenty or more flowers, with 

 hairy pedicels, each subtended by a smooth, spreading or deflexed ovate-lanceolate 

 boat-shaped bract, about an inch in length. Floivers showy, about two inches across; 

 sepals oblong-lanceolate acute, narrowed towards the base, the dorsal one white, the 

 lateral ones white on the upper, rosy crimson on the lower side at the base, tlie 

 tips being white ; petals similar in form, rather broader upwards, bluntly acute, 

 margined with rosy crimson, and pencilled in the lower half with the same colour; 

 lip adnate with the column at the base, its limb broadly roundish, deeply three- 

 lobed, the lateral lobes oblong-obtuse, the broadly cuneate centre lobe emar^natc, 

 entu-ely of a dense bright rosy crimson, the discal region of a much decpenc * '. 

 and the margins paler. Spur slender, curved beneath and shorter than the lip, rosy, 

 with a green tip. Column adnate with the base of lip, the blunt projecting beak 



whit 



Calanthb VESTITA WiLLiAMSii, Moove, supra. 



The genus Calanthe which we now again bring under the notice of our readers 



ranks amongst the most useful in cultivation for winter decoration. Several species 

 and varieties have been introduced within the last few years, and have proved to be 

 a great boon to plant growers and others who are fond of flowers, as the whole of 

 this bulbous class produce their blossoms at a time when the beauties of nature are 

 most appreciated. What can be more charming than the original C vesttta, and 

 its red-eyed and yellow-eyed varieties with their drooping flower spikes; or 

 more pleasing than the 0. VeitcMi, figured at Plate 31 of our first volume,^ a 

 hybrid raised by the Messrs. Veitch & Sons, of Chelsea, and a most useful decorative 

 plant, its long spikes of rich rose-pink flowers, producing a most charming cttcct 

 ^^ben intermixed with the white-flowered kinds. 



hat 



hich, as will be seen 



We have now another variety to make known, and one wiucti, as win _ 

 from the accompanying figure, adds a new charm to the genus since it ^ 

 introduce amon^ our winter blooming Calanthes a most distinct and show)^ torm 



^ V^V-V^ T-XXXUV^i ^X^VXXXXXX- 



