[Plate 15.] 



THE BLUE BOLLEA. 



(bollea ccelestis.) 



A Stove Epiphyte, from Tropical South America, belonging to the Order of Orchids. 



Specific Character* 



BOLLEA CCELESTIS.— Leaves six to ten on a shoot ; sheath flattened, pale, three to four inches long by one broad ; 

 blade six inches long by one broad, oblong-lanceolate, acuminate, bright pale green. Peduncles one from each 

 leaf, one-flowered, six inches long, very stout, flexuous. Flowers four inches in diameter. Sepals broad, acute, 

 violet-purple, with a broad, much deeper band beyond the middle and undulate edges, yellow towards the tips, 

 all acute ; dorsal smaller, obovate, hooded ; lateral larger, more oblong. Petals like the dorsal sepal, and about 

 the same size, but paler coloured. Lip with a short claw and ovate limb, which is deeply cordate at the base, 

 its margins are recurved, and tip produced and revolute ; it is deep violet beyond the middle, paler with yel- 

 lowish margins towards the base ; disk golden yellow, much raised, and rounded in front, deeply grooved, as 

 if formed of about twenty thick, parallel, raised connate plates, with rounded tips. Column very large, arching 

 over the disk, violet, obtuse, hairy in front within. 



Botanical Magazine, 6458. 



WE are under an obligation to Sir Trevor Lawrence for the opportunity of figuring this 

 splendid variety of Bollea ccelestis, which is the highest coloured form of this fine 

 Orchid we have seen. Bolleas appear to grow as freely as weeds in the Burford Lodge 

 collection, regarding which it is not saying too much in describing the plants collectively as 

 managed with a skill and intelligence such as merit the success that is attained. 



Bolleas and Pescatoreas seem so nearly allied as to merge into each other, with little to 

 distinguish them, except a slight structural difference, scarcely noticeable or appreciable from 

 a cultural point of view. Blue or purple are colours less frequently met with than others in 

 Orchids ; hence, combined with their intrinsic merits as distinct and handsome flowers, the 

 high estimation the Bolleas are now held in. The flowers, so far as we have had a chance of 

 seeing them, are produced singly on a stem, but when well managed, each growth gives such 

 a number that the plants when in bloom are the complete opposite of some Orchids that 

 produce handsome individual flowers, yet so sparingly as to much reduce their worth. 



So far as regards their requirements in cultivation, it is evident that Bolleas need a con- 

 siderable amount of heat whilst growing, with more shade and atmospheric moisture than 



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