'IHE ORCHID WORLD. 



I SeptcmljL-r, 1912 



L/ELIA ANCEPS SANDERIANA. 



L^LIA ANCEPS was imported from 

 Mexico by Messrs. Loddiges, and first 

 flowered m their collection in Decem- 

 ber, 1834, when a drawing of it was made for 

 the Botanical Register. A few years later a 

 plant flowered m the collection of James 

 Bateman ; it was the subject of a coloured 

 plate in Paxton's Magazine of Botany, 1838, 

 with the remark, " It is impossible to convey 

 a faithful idea of the exquisite richness of the 

 flowers of this valuable plant, for the extreme 

 delicacy of the texture of the sepals and 

 petals, and the rich deep glowing purple of 

 the lip defy description ; and we do not hesi- 

 tate to say that they are equal, if not superior, 

 to any thing known among the Orchideous 

 tribe." 



Dr. Lindley, the eminent Orchidologist, has 

 remarked, " When we say that this plant is 

 equal in beauty to any of the Cattleyas ; that 

 it has a far more graceful mode of growth, in 

 consequence of the length of its slender scaly 

 stems, from the point of which the flowers 

 spring ; and that it diffuses an agreeable 

 fragrance, we shall have said that it is one of 

 the most interesting of the tribe that has yet 

 made its appearance." 



During the winter of 1867-8 Mr. Daw.son, 

 of Meadowbank, Glasgow, flowered a pure 

 white variety with the lip blotched and lined 

 with purple ; it still bears the name Leelia 

 anceps Dawsonii. This variety was really 

 discovered by Mr. Tucker when collecting for 

 Mr. Low, of Clapton. When, after a few 

 years, new localities were discovered in which 

 Laelia anceps was growing it was hoped that 

 other forms equal to Dawsonii would be 

 found. Such, however, was not the case, the 

 nearest variety, in point of colour and beauty, 

 being L. a. Sanderiana. 



Benedict Roezl, a keen observing collector, 

 was sent out by Messrs. Sander and Sons to 

 a district in Mexico on the Pacific Coast 

 which had hitherto been unexplored. Amongst 

 the wonderful treasures of the Mexican forests 

 he discovered Lslia anceps Sanderiana, at the 

 present time one of the most popular and 

 free-flowering varieties of the species. 



Lajlia anceps is found growing on trees on 

 the outskirts of virgin forests, but occasionally 

 on rocks, fully exposed to sun and air. The 

 plants cling to the rocks by means of their 

 roots, and these are nourished by decayed 

 moss and detritus. Wherever the plants grow 

 fully exposed their bulbs and leaves assume a 

 ruddy tinge, while those in partial shade are 

 green, and do not flower so abundantly. The 

 rainy season extends from May to October, 

 during which period the plants are drenched 

 with rain for several hours daily, and remain 

 saturated throughout the night. Early in the 

 morning a cold drying wind blows and dries 

 the plants, which are afterwards fully exposed 

 to the fierce sun until the storm drenches 

 them afresh. 



In November, after the rainy season has 

 ceased, and when the newly made bulbs are 

 firm and ripened, the flowers are produced. 

 During the next few months the plants are at 

 rest, owing to the dryness of the atmosphere. 

 About the end of February the new bulbs 

 send out fresh roots, and these are encouraged 

 by the fine mist and slight showers which pre- 

 vail at this season, but which in no way equal 

 the amount of moisture that occurs during the 

 long rainy season. 



The remarkable specimen of Laelia anceps 

 Sanderiana illustrated in the present issue 

 was grown by Mr. J. Smith when Orchid 

 grower to the Right Hon. Joseph Chamber- 

 lain, Highbury, Birmingham. In the year 

 1899 this plant produced 27 spikes bearing 

 an aggregate of 108 flowers, and the follow- 

 ing season 3 1 spikes with, strange to state, 

 exactly the same number of flowers Lslia 

 anceps was well represented in the Highbury 

 collection, the various varieties producing no 

 less than 722 blooms. This large quantity of 

 flower in no way appeared to weaken the con- 

 stitution of the plants, for the following season 

 they produced the increased number of 795 

 blooms. The varieties included Barkeriana, 

 blanda, callistoglossa, Percivaliana, Sander- 

 iana, and Chamberlainiana, the latter still 

 being the finest form of Laslia anceps. 



Mr. J. Smith grew this superb specimen in 



