26 



IFIF. ORCHID WORLD. 



[Xo\'cmbc'r, 1915. 



wet and dry seasons more decided than m the 

 other C. labiata districts. C. Eldorado is not 

 only distmguished from the other Cattleyas 

 of the group by the characters described 

 above, but also by its more rounded and 

 smooth stems, and by its more rigid, leathery, 

 erect leaves. It usually flowers in the months 

 of July and August. The name El Dorado 

 is literally " the golden land " ; it was given by 

 the Spaniards m the- sixteenth century to an 

 imaginary region m the interior of South 

 America, lying between the Orinoco and the 

 Amazon. The pure white variety of the 

 species is known as Cattlcya Eldorado 

 Wallisii. 



# 



Cattleya guttata. — Few amateurs are 

 acquainted with this fine old species, now 

 rarely seen m cultivation. Dr. Lmdley 

 figured and described it as long ago as 183 1 

 (Bot. Reg., XVII. /. 1406), from a plant which 

 flowered in the garden of the Horticultural 

 Society. In December, 1836, a j^lant bearing 

 a spike of 24 flowers was exhibited by Mr. R. 

 Harrison, of Liverpool, and was awarded a 

 Silver Knightian Medal ; Lindley then 

 remarked that it was with one exception the 

 most noble specimen of this natural order 

 which he had had the good fortune to observe. 

 From time to time importations of this 

 species were received in England, but the 

 opportunities of procuring other representa- 

 tives of the genus with larger flowers, and the 

 ever-increasing interest in hybrids, mainly 

 accounted for C. guttata becoming a rarity, 

 until at the present time very few plants 

 indeed are to be found in amateurs' collec- 

 tions. It IS, then, a welcome pleasure to hear 

 of a fine specimen in the possession of Mr. 

 Thos. J. Finnic, of Claygate, Surrey, who 

 obtained it from the Santos Sierra, Brazil. 

 The erect spikes average about 17 flowers, 

 one has as many as 24, while the total number 

 carried by this one specimen is 74; thus 

 creating a truly majestic display. The fleshy 

 flowers, which measure 3 inches across, are of 

 a yellowish-green colour spotted with purple- 

 brown ; the lip three-lobed, the lateral ones 



white and folding over the column, the median 

 one bright rose-purple. Mr. Finnie kindly 

 sends us a specimen flower which proves that 

 this plant is the true C. guttata, and not the 

 variety Leopoldii, which is, more correctly 

 speaking, a distinct species. Collectors have 

 stated that this Cattleya occurs in a great 

 variety of situations. It is sometimes found 

 on rocks, exposed to the scorching heat of 

 the sun and to frequent draughts, while at 

 opposite seasons it is drenched by torrents of 

 rain ; in those places it sometimes grows in 

 such dense masses as to exclude all other 

 vegetation. It is also met with on isolated 

 trees and on the borders of the forest. 



?<.S ?<J: ^ 



Odontoglossum Victory. — This, the 

 iate.st production of Messrs. Armstrong and 

 Brown, is destined to be the advance guard 

 of what IS to follow in its section. It is a 

 curious fact, that almost immediately after the 

 appearance of my notes on a recent visit 

 there this gem should turn up. To adequately 

 describe its colouring is to me somewhat 

 difficult. When I had the privilege of seeing 

 the plant before it went to the Orchid 

 Committee the colour of the huge blotches 

 gave me the impression of a bronze lustre 

 overlying the red-brown and plum of the 

 sepals and petals, while the inner margin of 

 pure white em])hasised the delightful contrast. 

 I also noticed on the outer margin of the 

 petals a band of pale mauve or heliotrope, 

 about an eighth of an inch in diameter and of 

 equal depth throughout. Altogether a superb 

 thing, possessing a flower of perfect harmony 

 and shape — noble, yet refined ; gorgeous, yet 

 not gaudy. Think of it, when the plant in 

 due time carries a full\- developed spike I 

 hope I shall be spared to see it, as, no doubt, 

 IS the desire of many readers. What next? 

 one may ask. All I can venture to say is, to 

 quote that historic phrase, " Wait and See." 

 Of course, that is all we can do, but one gets 

 impatient. In conclusion, to whatever praise 

 is bestowed on Odontoglossum Victory one 

 may well add " Bene merite." -H. A. Fanner 



