13 
fan} 
| Hal 
PL. CDLXI. 
CATTLEYA GIGAS inp. var. AMPLISSIMA Linp. 
THE GIGANTIC CATTLEYA, ENLARGED VARIETY. 
CATTLEYA. Vide Lindenia, I, p. 13. 
Cattleya gigas. Vide Lindenia, Il, p. 33. 
Var. amplissima Linp., infra. 
aT; Ithough the adjective which we have adopted as a varietal name may 
| be objected to as forming a pleonasm, it is, in our opinion, quite 
legitimate and necessary in order to distinguish a truly exceptional 
variety. 
The ordinary type of Cattleya gigas may be termed without any exaggeration 
noble but in the present instance we have a variety so ample and majestic in its 
proportions that in our experience has never been equalled. It might be suggested 
that the enormous development of its blossoms is a freak of nature and will not 
always obtain, this however is not the case as the plant has flowered for several 
years in succession, always producing similar blooms, moreover the scape from 
which our plate was prepared bore several flowers a fact which precludes the 
possibility of an abnormal growth, as not infrequently where only one blossom 
is borne on a scape an increase in its dimensions is the result. 
In addition to its extraordinary size, the present variety also deserves 
special attention owing to the superb purple colouring of its lip, the eye-like 
spots at the opening of the throat being reduced to a very small area, and the 
anterior lobe, more expanded and rounded than is usual in the type, the colour 
being a very deep crimson-purple, with a narrow pale rose margin. 
Quoique l’épithéte inscrite ci-dessus comme nom variétal paraisse un peu 
entachée de pléonasme, elle est cependant pleinement justifiée, et s'impose pour 
distinguer une variété véritablement exceptionnelle. 
Jamais en effet, nous n’avions eu l’occasion d’admirer une forme aussi ample 
et aussi majestueuse de cette espéce, déja si imposante dans le type ordinaire ; 
cette ampleur ne peut pas étre considérée comme accidentelle, car la plante a 
fleuri plusieurs années consécutivement en donnant des fleurs de la méme gran- 
deur, et il est A remarquer que la grappe qui a servi de modéle pour la confection 
de notre planche portait plusieurs fleurs, ce qui exclut l’hypothése d’un dévelop- 
ve 
r eros to 
Ce ee ee ee a 
