PL. 26. CATTLEYA VELUTINA.
CATTLEYA VELUTINA.
[[Plate 26].]
Native of Brazil.
Epiphytal. Stems slender, terete, from twelve to eighteen inches high, supporting the evergreen foliage, and furnished at intervals with short ovate appressed bracts. Leaves in pairs, oblong, acute, widest near the base, leathery, about eight inches long, and an inch and a half broad, of a dark green colour. Scape two-flowered, issuing from a terminal compressed sheath or bract. Flowers of medium size, stout in texture, tawny orange, the lip white marked with purplish spots arranged in radiating lines, very fragrant; sepals ligulate-oblong, acute, recurved, rich tawny orange, spotted with purple; petals of the same colour, cuneate-oblong, acute, somewhat lobulate or wavy; lip three-lobed, the side lobes very short semi-ovate, partially enclosing the column, the front lobe large, roundish-ovate, apiculate, wavy and toothletted, the disk between the side lobes yellow with purplish streaks, the radiating veins purplish, the front or middle lobe white with dark purple veins, everywhere clothed with velvety pubescence. Column free at the back, marked with many purple spots, and having a purplish border to the anther-bed.
Cattleya velutina, Reichenbach fil., in Gardeners’ Chronicle, 1870, 140, 1373; Id. 1872, 1259, figs. 288, 289; Williams, Orchid Grower’s Manual, 5 ed. 135.
This fine Orchid first flowered in 1870, under the care of Mr. A. Williams, in the collection of Joseph Broome, Esq., of Didsbury, Manchester, and subsequently in that of E. G. Wrigley, Esq., of Bury. What is described as a still finer variety of the same plant appeared shortly after in the collection of Consul Schiller, of Hamburgh. One of the most remarkable and special peculiarities of the species is the powerful fragrance of its flowers, which is so strongly developed as to scent the whole house in which a blooming plant is placed.
It is a very rare as well as a very distinct species. We have, ourselves, only met with one example in bloom, besides that from what our illustration was taken, and that was the specimen in the collection of Mr. J. Broome, above referred to, as being the first which bloomed in this country. Our figure was taken from a plant which flowered recently in the grand collection of Sir Trevor Lawrence, Bart., M.P., who was good enough to send it for our artist to sketch, and he has succeeded in securing a very faithful likeness of it. We have no doubt our collectors will meet with it in their journeyings in its native country, but it must be rare there, or we should have obtained more of it; most probably, like others of its genus, it is difficult to secure. It resembles Cattleya bicolor in its habit of growth, the stems bearing two leaves, which grow about twelve to eighteen inches in length. The sepals and petals are of a rich tawny orange colour, irregularly spotted with purple, and the lip has the side lobes yellow, and is white in front, and distinctly striped with violet. Mr. Spyers says it blooms in September and October, when its fragrance, combined with its distinct colour, renders it a very acceptable inmate of the Orchid house; it also flowers at a time when few other Cattleyas are in bloom.
Cattleya velutina requires the same treatment as the other Cattleyas, that is, to be potted in peat soil with good drainage; it does not need so much water at the roots as some kinds, but it should be borne in mind, on the other hand, that it must not be allowed to shrivel, and therefore a little moisture should always be supplied to the roots. If the plant once gets into an unhealthy condition its recovery will be very doubtful. Those of the Cattleyas, such as C. bicolor and C. velutina, which have very slender bulbs are more liable to go wrong than those that form thick fleshy bulbs, the latter having more substance from which to draw their support. They require to be kept near the light, with very little shade, excepting just sufficient to keep them from the burning sun.
Like other Cattleyas, this species is subject to the inroads of the scale insect, which should be frequently sought for, and, if found, promptly removed. The foliage should be kept in a plump condition and not allowed to shrivel. In cleansing the leaves injury is often caused by too hard rubbing, by which they become bruised; rather should they be handled delicately, as, if once damaged, they cannot be restored to a sound healthy appearance. A damaged leaf is not only a disfigurement, but is of great injury to the health of the plant, by interfering with the action of its pores. Cleanliness is one of the great secrets of success in plant cultivation, but the operation of cleansing should be taken in hand before the insects get a-head, or they will assuredly eat into the leaves, which will thus become permanently injured at the points of attack.
Dr. Ainsworth’s Orchids.—When in Manchester we had the pleasure of visiting the collection of R. F. Ainsworth, Esq., M.D., in whose fine and varied collection the plant that most especially attracted our attention was Masdevallia Chimæra, the blossoms of which were very large, each flower measuring seventeen inches across. The effect of these beautiful and curiously spotted flowers hanging around the basket was very striking. We have had it sent to us to figure, but the flowers do not travel well; we hope, however, some day, when it is in bloom, to be able to figure it. We also noticed, in the same house, a wonderfully fine form of Odontoglossum Alexandræ, with broad sepals and petals of beautiful white, while the centre of the petals is marked with a pleasing rose colour, which gives it a very pretty appearance; the lip is large, white, beautifully crisped round the edge, the upper part bright orange-yellow. It was, altogether, a very showy flower. Mr. Mitchell, the gardener, said it had been in bloom for several weeks, and it was still fresh and fine when we saw it.