1674 



SOBRALIA 



SOBRALIA 



or with lonffitudinal ridges; cohimn slender; poUinia 

 8. Abuut ;-!0 species, inhabiting the niountains of 

 Mexico and tropical America. The following account 

 comprises the species that appear to be in the American 

 trade, but others are to l>e found in the collection of 

 fanciers, as ,S'. Li/i'islnim . Lindl., with large white 

 yellow-veined lis.; .S'. W/lsoni, Rolfe. with large white 

 lis. shaded wirh rose inid spntti-d with purpb- ; also 

 various forms <jt S. niiicra ntJin , as vars. innni , j>ur- 

 purea and 'ilhi.Ju. HeiNKICH HaSSELBRING. 



Sobralias are charming orchids, and where room can 

 be L;i\'eti to largo plants they wvW repay the spa.ce and 

 oai-c tlicy n-ijiiire. IMaiiy of tln.-'m, to In- sun-, ar^-- vtry 

 fuiiai-iiJiis in tht-ir bluintiiug. sonif lasiiiii,^ only a day, 

 but nearly all of them nuike up for this iiy a succession 

 of flowers which is more or less rapid. The individual 

 Idossoins are of a size to equal almost any orchid tiower. 

 and i[uite as L'-racpfuI in their gt-neral ai'i>earance — far 



2332. SobraUa macrantha (X ]■>, 



more graceful than most Cattleyas even. Where space 

 for large and bushy plants can be afforded, some of the 

 Sobralias wall prove most charming plants, having the 

 double advantage of presenting in a well-grown plant 

 not only beautiful blossoms but" a subject which is thor- 

 oughly good-looking as a foliage plant. They also have 

 the added advantage of being, in most instances, of 

 rather easy culture. Given a suitable soil and a liberal 

 supply of water they are almost sure to grow and bloom, 

 a!tiiouu:li tiicy will do better if they are given their 

 time f..>r rest, when less water is allowed without per- 

 mitting the material about the roots ever to become 

 quite dry. 



The flowers of many Sobralias are very fugacious, 

 some lasting only one day, but nearly all of the varie- 

 ties make up for this fault by a succession of flowers 

 more or less rapid through a blooming period of, in 

 some instances, many weeks. In size the individual 

 blossoms vary from that of an ordinary C<iineija hthiafa 

 to one scarcely an inch and a half across, and the jdauts 

 thenaselves present as great varietv, ranging from su<di 

 as S. frafjmi)i<.\x\-i\c\\ -rows h'ss"than'a foot high, to 

 that giant of the tribo S. C'lt/hi/a , wliirli will reach a 

 height of nearly ten feet. They'aisu give as much va- 



riety in their coloring, ranging from a shade of laven- 

 der which is almost a blue through different shades of 

 purple to the rich claret color of ^'. Lotril, and from 

 yellow to the purest white. f_ j_ Le Motne. 



A. F/.s. irJn'fr {s>'e (dso Nos. 4 and 0)..l. leucoxantha 

 AA. F/s. !/<'l(o'r. 



B. ll'^iyhf 2 If 2. xantholeuca 



BB. Hi'iijht 1 It ;j. fragrans 



AAA. Fls. cJil'.'l'Iff Dtnple or rose 4. macrantha 



5. Brandtias 



6. Fenzliana 



7. Holfordii 



8. Cattleya 



9. Lowii 



1. leucoxantha, Reichb. f. Stems tufted, 'A ft. high, 

 spotted: Ivs. 4-G in. loni,^ lanceolate, acuminate: lis. 

 (1-7 in. across; sfj)als linear-lanceolate, spreading and 

 recurved, white; pttals shorter, oblong, undulate above, 

 also pure wdiite; labellum with a ventricose tube; limb 

 large, circular, notched in front and the margin irregu- 

 larly lobulate and wavy, throat golden yellow, with a 

 few brownish stripes. Aug. Costa Rica. B.M. 7058. 

 R.B. 23:205. J.H. 111.33:77. 



2. santholeuca, Reichb. f. Stems about 2 ft. high, 

 tufted: ivs. spreading and drooping, lanceolate, 6-7 in. 

 long, with speckled sheaths: fls. solitary, lemon-yellow, 

 with a deeper shade on the lip: sepals linear-lanceolate, 

 spreading and recurved ; petals similar hut shorter; 

 blade of the labellum orbicular, crisp and undulate, 

 margin crenate. Guatemala. B.M. 7332. R.H. 1890:12. 

 G.C in. n:9. Gn. 22:306. — A species with flowers about 

 as large as S. »i tic)-a}if ha ,hu.t plants of more compact 

 habit.' 



3. fragrans, Lindl. A small species with stems about 

 1 ft. high: ivs. 1 or 2, oblong-lanceolate, 4-5 in. long: 

 fls. 2-3 on a long peduncle, about 2 in. long, pale sulfur- 

 yellow ; sepals oblong, spreading; petals similar but 

 erect; middle lobe of the labellum fimbriate on the mar- 

 gin and having many fimbriated crests. Columbia. 

 B.M. 4882. -One of the smallest of the genus. 



4. macrantha, Lindl. Fig. 2332. Stems tufted, reed- 

 like, 4-7 ft. high, leafy all the way up: Ivs. broadly lan- 

 ceolate to oblong-lanceolate, long-pointed, 8-10 in. long: 

 fls. several at the ends of tlie stems, rose-purple, with 

 the front of the labellum deep purple; sepals linear- 

 oblong, 4:% in. long, reflexed and twisted ; petals 

 broader, oblong, wa\'y above; labellum 5 in. long, with 

 the expanded portion almost circular, 3 in. across and 

 2-lobed at the apex, very wavy; tube long, wdiitish with- 

 in, with a yellow stain in the throat and several thin 

 yellow ridges. Mav-July. Mexico and Guatemala. 

 B.M. 4440. F.S. 7:669. P.M. 14:241 (var.). G.M. 

 31:559. Var. Kienasti^na (var. alba) has white fls. 



5. Brindtiae, Krzl, Stems 3 ft. high: Ivs. lanceolate, 

 acuminate, 8 in. long: fls. purple-rose, paler outside, 

 with the labellum darker and having a yellow disk; 

 sepals linear; petals twice as wide; middle lobe of the 

 labellum very broad, divided into 2 diverging, rather 

 acute lobes; anther-bed with a long recurved horn on 

 each side. Resembles a medium-sized S. niacr<nifJw, 

 distinguished by the long horns of the column, and 

 black spots (not hairs) on the leaf-sheaths. S. Amer. 



6. Fenzliana, Reichb. f. Stems slender: sheaths 

 blackish, asperulate: Ivs. oblong, acutish: fls. rose- 

 colored; si^pals oldong, acute; petals obovate-cuneate, 

 three-fourths as long as the sepals; labellum spreading, 

 front portion ovate, notched, crenulate; horns of the 

 column equaling the antlier. Nicaragua.— Var. 6,lba, 

 Hort., has pure white flowers. 



7. H61Iordii, Sander. Plants of dwarf habit: fls. rose- 

 carmine, ileeper in the lip, shndim,^ to whitish in the 

 throat. Haldtat not stated by Sander. 



8. Cattleya, Reichb. f. Stem stout: Ivs. oblong, acu- 

 minate, idaitcil, bearing several lateral clusters of 

 strong, thick fls. of a firm fleshy texture, with purplish 

 brown sfjials ami petals ;nid " a purplish lip, with a 

 white coliunn and tliree yellow lines over the center of 

 the li]'. Colombia. 



