Cattleya Dowiana.—We have received a very beautiful flower of this grand Cattleya, by post, from R. Dodgson, Esq., of Blackburn, in whose fine collection the plant has been grown. Mr. Osman, the gardener, says, “we had three imported plants last year, and two of them are now in bloom.” We were pleased to hear this, as Cattleya Dowiana is considered a difficult plant to flower, though we have seen many plants blooming this season. There is no doubt that its cultivation is becoming better understood. The variety above referred to has a large lip of a most intense dark purple, striped and reticulated with golden yellow, in a very prominent manner. The sepals and petals are large, of good substance, of a bright nankeen colour, and produce a very pleasing and altogether distinct appearance. This is, undoubtedly, one of the most distinct and beautiful of all Cattleyas. There is a grand figure of this species in the 2nd series of Warner’s Select Orchidaceous Plants, t. 27.—B. S. W.
Cypripedium Spicerianum.—We were pleased to receive last month a splendid bloom of this fine variety from J. S. Bockett, Esq., of Stamford Hill. There is no doubt that it is one of the most distinct species of the whole genus. The dorsal sepal is erect, curiously curved, pure white, of a wax-like texture, having a purple streak extending from the base to the apex; the linear-oblong petals are much crisped on the edge, and, like the other parts of the flower, are of a bronzy-green colour, the lip being darker, of a reddish-brown and glossy. It has been named in honour of H. Spicer, Esq., and was introduced from India some few years ago. We also received at the same time a fine form of Odontoglossum Chestertoni, and a most distinctly spotted variety of O. Alexandræ, the sepals and petals of which are white, spotted with reddish-crimson, and the lip white, with a large reddish-brown blotch on the lower portion.—B. S. W.
PL. 20. DENDROBIUM AINSWORTHII ROSEUM.[
DENDROBIUM AINSWORTHII ROSEUM.
[[Plate 20].]
A Garden Hybrid.
Epiphytal. Stems (pseudobulbs) clustered, elongate, spreading, terete, stoutish above, tapering to the base, jointed, the surface furrowed between the joints. Leaves distichous, linear-oblong, acute, three-fourths of an inch broad, sheathing the stems at the base, the sheaths remaining as a membranous investment. Peduncles proceeding from the joints of the stem, slender, two to three-flowered, the pedicels with small ovate bracts at their base. Flowers showy, white, with rich amaranth-crimson blotch, measuring about three inches across; sepals lanceolate or ovate-lanceolate, spreading, white, tinged with rose colour, as are the larger and broader oblong-ovate petals; lip (labellum) broadly obovate, cucullate, the basal portion rolled in over the column, the anterior portion spread out into a broad concave heart-shaped front lobe, which is undulated at the margin, and nearly covered by a large rich amaranth-crimson blotch, feathered at the edge, and traversed by deeper crimson veins, the extreme margin being paler. Column short, enclosed by the basal portion of the lip.
Dendrobium Ainsworthii, Moore in Gardeners’ Chronicle (1874), N.S. i. 443, figs. 93, 94; Id. N.S. viii., 166, figs. 30, 31, 32; Anderson in Gardeners’ Chronicle, N.S. vii., 751; Floral Magazine, 2 s. t. 196; Rand’s Orchids, 242; Williams’ Orchid Growers’ Manual, ed. v., 163.
Var. ROSEUM; sepals and petals tinted with magenta rose; lip almost wholly covered by the large mulberry-crimson feathered blotch.
Dendrobium Ainsworthii var. ROSEUM, Moore in Gardeners’ Chronicle (1877), N.S. vii., 655; Id. N.S. viii., 166; Anderson in Gardeners’ Chronicle, N.S. vii., 750.
The beautiful Dendrobium Ainsworthii is the result of a cross between D. nobile and D. heterocarpum, and was raised by Mr. Mitchell, gardener to R. F. Ainsworth, Esq., M.D., Of Higher Broughton, Manchester, after whom it is named. In habit of growth and in general appearance the plant partakes mostly of the character of D. nobile, while the flowers more closely resemble those of D. heterocarpum in form, and have in a slight degree the delicious fragrance of those produced by that species. In D. Ainsworthii the flowers have white sepals and petals, while the lip is marked by a dense blotch of a rich amaranth or mulberry-crimson. In the D. Ainsworthii roseum now figured, the sepals and petals are of a bright rosy-magenta, and the lip is more fully covered with a richer coloured deep crimson blotch. This variety is extremely rare, and forms a charming contrast to the white blossoms of its sister hybrid. The flowers will be found very useful for cutting, as they last for a considerable time in water.
Dendrobium Ainsworthii roseum requires treatment similar to that given to D. nobile. We have found it to do well in a compost of peat and sphagnum moss, planted in pans suspended from the roof of the East India house, in a position where it can get plenty of light and air. During the growing season this plant enjoys a liberal supply of water, which after the bulbs have completed their development may be gradually withheld, and the plant cooled down by placing it in the Cattleya-house, where it should remain until the time of flowering, which extends from February to June. Mr. Stevens, of Trentham, grows it very successfully, suspended in a well-appointed plant stove, where it has abundance of light.