PL. 44. LÆLIA ANCEPS DAWSONII.

LÆLIA ANCEPS DAWSONI.
[[Plate 44].]
Native of Juquila in Mexico.

Epiphytal. Pseudobulbs oblong-ovate, four to five inches long, compressed and two-edged, with prominent angles on the flattened sides so as to render them tetraquetrous, clothed with large membranaceous scales. Leaves one or two from each pseudobulb, oblong-lanceolate acute, coriaceous, smooth and glossy on the surface, of a rich deep green colour. Scape rising from between the leaves at the apex of the pseudobulb, two to three feet long, ancipitous, clothed with carinate bracts, and bearing about three large and charmingly beautiful blossoms. Flowers large, measuring about four and a-half inches across; sepals lanceolate, acuminate, white; petals ovate, acuminate, white; lip prominent, three-lobed: the lateral lobes convolute over the column, white at the margin, stained with rosy purple exteriorly, and marked with numerous bright purple branched lines within the closed portion, where there is also a yellow ridge lined with purple which passes out into the base of the front lobe in the form of three yellow crests; the front lobe oblong acute, recurved at the tip, the base white, the rest of the lobe (about three-fourths of its surface) of a deep rich magenta-purple, evenly but narrowly bordered with white. Column enclosed.

Lælia anceps Dawsoni, Anderson, in Gardeners’ Chronicle, 1868, 27; Reichenbach fil., in Gardeners’ Chronicle, 1873, 254; Warner, Select Orchidaceous Plants, 2 ser., t. 34; Jennings, Orchids, t. 6; Floral Magazine, t. 530; Williams, Orchid Grower’s Manual, 5 ed., 202.

Lælia anceps Dawsoniana, Rand, Orchids, 296.

This is one of the most chaste and beautiful Orchids of its class. The type, Lælia anceps, has flowers of a rosy lilac and deep purple colour, while the one before us is pure white with the exception of the lip, which is of a rich sparkling purple, and makes a splendid contrast.

This variety was imported many years ago by the Messrs. Low & Co., of Clapton. There have been several other white forms flowered lately, but none to equal the one represented in our plate, the drawing of which was taken from a very fine specimen bearing four spikes, growing in the rich collection of R. B. Dodgson, Esq., of Blackburn; it was the finest plant we have seen in bloom, and the production of so grand a specimen reflects great credit on Mr. Osman, the Gardener, for his skill in cultivation.

Lælia anceps Dawsoni is, like the type form, of compact-growing habit. The pseudobulbs are from four to six inches in height, and the foliage of a light green colour. The flower spike is developed at the tip of the pseudobulb after it has completed its growth, and attains to about two feet in length, generally bearing two or three blossoms at the end; the sepals and petals are pure white, of good form and substance, and the lip is of a dark rosy purple edged with white, the disk orange coloured, the lower part of the throat pale orange veined with crimson, and the upper part white. It generally blooms in January and February, and continues in perfection for two and three weeks.

This variety must be very rare in its native habitat, as we have received importations on several occasions purporting to be this white form, but after the plants have been grown on and flowered, they have invariably proved to be the type with rosy-coloured flowers. This is also the experience of other importers of Orchids.

The plant is best grown in a pot or basket suspended from the roof, where it can obtain all the light possible, which induces it to grow with greater vigour and to flower more freely. It thrives well in the Cattleya house with a moderate supply of water in the growing season, but when at rest less water will suffice. We have found good rough fibrous peat to be the most advantageous material in which to grow it, allowing ample drainage; and when fresh potting material is required the operation of supplying it should be performed just as the plant begins to grow, which is after the blooming season. Always bear in mind that the plants must be kept free from insects.