PL. 36. CYPRIPEDIUM POLITUM.
CYPRIPEDIUM POLITUM.
[[Plate 36].]
Garden Hybrid.
Epiphytal. Acaulescent. Leaves radical, distichous, coriaceous, oblong, acute, palish green thickly chequered with dark bottle-green markings, the under side dull reddish purple. Scapes solitary in the leaf axils, pubescent, purplish, terminating in a lanceolate sharply keeled bract, from which the solitary blossom emerges. Flowers medium-sized, peculiar in form, rather showy; dorsal sepals ovate-acute, ciliate, the inner surface polished, suffused with reddish purple in the lower part, whitish towards the tip, traversed by numerous green veins of which the alternate ones are longer and stouter than the rest, all of them distinctly marked on the outer surface; lateral connate sepals smaller, ciliate, greenish white with green veins, rather shorter than the lip; petals linear-oblong, about two and a half inches in length, glossy, deflexed (more so than in the figure), ciliate with a fringe of unequal black hairs, bright wine-red, greenish towards the base, where it is marked with several Indian-purple warts most abundant near the upper edge, exterior surface green; lip narrowly pouch-shaped, nearly as long as the petals, suffused in front with the same purplish red tint, and marked thickly with green veins at the sides and back, the basal auricles erect, obtuse, interior surface green, dotted with wine-red, the incurved margins of the claw greenish yellow, with reddish spots. Staminode transverse, yellowish green, with two large exterior teeth in front and a small inner tooth, light brown with green markings.
Cypripedium politum, Reichenbach fil., in Gardeners’ Chronicle, N.S. xiv., 525.
This new Lady’s Slipper is one of a batch raised some few years since by Robert Warner, Esq., of Broomfield, near Chelmsford, who has been successful in producing several very good forms by the process of hybridisation. The plants are of dwarf habit, free-growing, and free-blooming, each small growth bringing forth its flower. This Cypripedium politum has been flowered for several years past by Mr. Warner, and thus its characteristic features and its constancy are well ascertained. There are also some other distinct kinds obtained through the same cross, some of which we hope to figure on a future occasion. We should expect that the cross was made between C. barbatum superbum and C. venustum.
Cypripedium politum is a plant of compact habit and of free growth. The leaves are of a distinct and well-marked character, as will be seen in the very accurate portrait furnished by our artist. They are oblong, acute, about five inches long, and somewhat over an inch broad, of a beautiful light green, barred and chequered with a very deep or bottle-green, which gives it a very pleasing appearance; the under-surface is stained with a deep reddish wine-purple. The downy flower-scapes are also purple, some six to eight inches in height, each supporting a solitary flower, in which the dorsal sepal is ovate, polished, flushed in the lower part with purplish red and spotted with purple at the base, the upper part white, and the whole traversed by bright green veins which are alternately long and short. The petals are oblong, broadest at the apex, of a bright wine-red, polished, with black hairs along the margin, and Indian-purple warts near the upper edge, greenish towards the base and along the lower edge. The pouch-shaped lip is nearly as long as the petals, purplish red with a coppery tinge, glossy, veined with green at the sides and back. The flowers are produced during January and February, a season when they are much in request for decorative purposes. The Cypripediums are very useful for furnishing a supply of cut flowers, as they will keep fresh for several weeks in water, and will last for at least six weeks on the plant.
These interesting plants are of easy cultivation, and occupy but little space, hence they may be accommodated in every small collection, and may be grown without much expense. The species and varieties forming the barbatum group, to which this plant belongs, all require similar treatment. They may be grown either in the Cattleya or East India house, and are best cultivated in pots. Some of our Orchid-growers prefer to plant them in sphagnum moss, others in peat; for ourselves, we prefer to use good fibrous peat, ample drainage being provided. We have seen them thrive well in fibrous loam. The plants must be kept above the rim of the pot, as they root freely over the surface of the rough material. Since they have no fleshy bulbs to support them, and their growth is continuous almost throughout the year, they require to be liberally supplied with water at the roots; for this reason the pots must be well drained.
Insects require to be constantly searched for. The scale sometimes appears upon the plants, but may easily be subjugated by sponging the surface with clean water. Their greatest enemy, however, is the red thrips, which must be hunted up and destroyed if the health of the plants is to be maintained, but it may be easily kept under if promptly, perseveringly, and vigorously attacked.