352 



ORCHIDS 



Odontoglossum. 



one-leaved pseudo-bulbs, about 2in. apart. The leaves are 6in. to 

 loin. long, by about 2in. broad, and leathery in texture. Flower- 

 spikes I ft. long, bearing many flowers, each 2 in. across, full ; 

 sepals and petals rounded at the apex, crisp-edged, and coloured 

 coppery - brown, margined with yellow, and with a varnished 

 appearance : lip broadening towards the apex, bright yellow, 

 with a white crest and column. Colombia, 1847. (Batem. 

 Monog., t. 27.) 



O. loronariiim and its varieties require an abundance of strong 

 light to induce them to flower in a satisfactory manner. They 

 should be grown in baskets and suspended near the roof-glass. 



Var. ihiriqiiciisc. — Flowers larger and paler; sepals chestnut- 

 brown. 



A'ar. nuiilalii/ii. — Pseudo-bulbs more crowded on the rhizome. 

 Flowers smaller and more numerous on the spike. Syn. O. brevi- 

 foUiim. 



O. crispum (Liudl.). — This plant, better known under the 

 names of O. Alexandnc and O. B/uiitii, is, perhaps, the queen 

 of the whole of the Orchid family. IJy a little management 

 its charming flowers may be had all the year round. It is a 

 plant that varies very considerably, no two of the many thousands 

 imported being exactly alike, and very marked differences in 

 size, colouring, and form of the flowers are constantly pre- 

 senting themselves. The pseudo-bulbs are about 3in. long, 

 compressed, ovoid, and each one bears a pair of strap-shaped 

 leaves ift. long. The flower-scape is arched, sometimes branched. 

 Strong plants produce many flowers on a scape. Each pseudo- 

 Ijulb bears only one scape. Each flower is from 2in. to 3in. 

 across. In good typical forms the sepals and petals are white, 

 ovate, or ovate-lanceolate, the petals being much undulated, and 

 often fringed or toothed ; the lip is oblong-acuminate, yellow, 

 and crested towards the base, beautifully crisped at the 

 margin, and more or less spotted towards the front with 

 blotches of reddish-brown. This jilant has been very largely 

 imported t'rom Colombia, and in some of its forms is flushed 

 with a lovel)' tint of rose. Few flowers are more deservedly 

 admired, and the variety that is so characteristic of the species 

 tends to enhance its charms, as all its forms are beautiful. It 

 is a matter for regret that this cannot retain the name of 

 O. Akxandi-iC^ whicli proves to be but one of the many forms 

 of the previously-known O. a-ispiiin, the latter name, therefore, 

 takes precedence. As many as 120 blossoms, in four racemes, 

 have been produced by a single specimen. The original 

 O. crispum is a plant of much earlier introduction. Karl 



