ODONTOGLOSSUM LONDESBOROUGHIANUM.
[[Plate 82].]
Native of Mexico.
Epiphytal. Pseudobulbs oblong-ovate, two and a half inches long, glaucous green, becoming furrowed when old. Leaves deciduous, ligulate acute, channelled towards the base, of a light green colour. Scape three to six feet long, arching, bearing at the upper end a many-flowered raceme. Flowers showy, with a large conspicuous bright yellow lip; sepals oblong, apiculate, concave, narrowed at the base into a short claw, slightly wavy at the edge, pale yellow, transversely barred with short oblong blotches of chestnut-red; petals ovate, concave, with a broad base, sessile, the apex broad, obtusely apiculate, the margins wavy and reflexed about the middle, the upper portion coloured like the sepals, and marked with transverse bars, the basal part marked concentrically; lip with a long yellow claw, spotted with chestnut-red, and having at its base two small oblong obtuse erect yellow auricles (sagittate), the flat transversely reniform limb one and a half inch wide, of a clear bright yellow; between the basal auricles are two shorter rounded incurved lobes, forming a scoop-like hollow, which is yellow, spotted on the inside, the front being produced below into a prominent keel, having a blunt arm on each side at the base. Column slender, semi-terete, curved, yellow, with a red line on each of the very shallow wing-like angles.
Odontoglossum Londesboroughianum, Reichenbach fil., in Gardeners’ Chronicle, N.S. xvii., 772.
We have in Odontoglossum Londesboroughianum one of the most distinct and brilliantly coloured of the Odontoglots, for there are but few of the species that we have in our plant stoves which produce flowers of a bright golden-yellow colour. There are many varieties of it dispersed through different collections, the individual form varying in the size of their flowers and in the depth of their colour, some being of a paler yellow than others. The form which we here illustrate is a very good one, and was received from the fine collection of H. J. Buchan, Esq., Wilton House, Southampton. Under the care of Mr. Osborn, the gardener at Wilton House, it has bloomed freely, and, with its long graceful spikes overhanging the foliage of other plants, it is found to have a charming effect. It is also extremely useful when cut for ornamenting vases, as in these days of æstheticism yellow always proves an acceptable colour in floral decoration. The blossoms, moreover, have a brilliant effect when tastefully arranged in vases, if used amongst flowers of other appropriate contrasting hues.
Odontoglossum Londesboroughianum is a deciduous plant, losing its foliage in winter; the leaves are of a light green colour, while the pseudobulbs are glaucous. The stems bearing the inflorescence are from three to six feet in length, the number of flowers produced being rather sparing. The sepals and petals, which are concave, are yellow, barred with reddish brown, while the lip is of a bright rich yellow. The plant blooms during the autumn months, and continues in perfection for several weeks.
We have found this species to thrive well when fastened on blocks of wood, and also when grown in baskets, with good drainage and rough fibrous peat or sphagnum moss; it requires a good supply of moisture at the roots in the growing season, but a less quantity when at rest. When grown on blocks it is necessary that more water should be given, as the blooms dry up quickly. The Cattleya house seems the most suitable structure in which to cultivate it, and here it should be suspended from the roof, so that it may be as fully exposed to the light and as near to the glass as is possible.
Orchids at Pickering Lodge, Timperley, the Seat of George Hardy, Esq.—This collection of Lælias and Cattleyas is well worth a journey to see. The plants are well grown, and form a finer lot of specimens than can be met with in most collections. They have been cultivated here for some years past, and a portion of them have been grown on from small plants. We noticed some very fine specimens of Lælia purpurata, from two to three feet in diameter, and showing a fine series of flower sheaths for blooming this season; also others of Cattleya crispa superba. There is a Cattleya Skinneri, a wonderful specimen, three feet across, showing a goodly number of sheaths. Cattleya Warnerii superba is a grand specimen, and of this species Mr. Hardy has many fine varieties. There are also notable specimens of C. Mossiæ, C. Trianæ, and the beautiful C. Mendelii, not only fine plants, but good varieties. Cattleya exoniensis we found splendidly in bloom—one of the best of the forms, of which there are several in cultivation; in this the lip was of the richest colours we have seen. There are many other fine Cattleyas and Lælias in the collection, many of which have taken the highest awards at the great shows at Manchester.
There are also in this collection fine examples of Dendrobium, Saccolabium Aërides, Phalænopsis, and other East Indian Orchids; and a very large number of cool Orchids, such as Odontoglossum Alexandræ; of this we saw a fine branched spiked form in full beauty among the many hundreds of good plants in the house, which contains also notable examples of O. Pescatorei, various species of Masdevallia, and others. This collection is one full of interest, as there are always many fine varieties in blossom, and the plants are well grown and duly cared for.—B. S. W.