Renanthera Lowii.—This noble plant, also known as Vanda Lowii, has bloomed very finely in the collection of Baron Alphonse de Rothschild, at Ferrières, near Paris, this being the finest and best grown specimen we have seen. The main stem is about six feet high, with four growths from it, and every leaf is perfect, which is rarely the case. It bore eleven of its charming pendulous spikes or racemes of flowers, each spike extended to the length of nine feet; it had a noble appearance. with its reddish brown flowers, marked by irregular lines of greenish yellow; but the most curious part connected with the inflorescence of this plant is, that at the base it produces two blossoms of a tawny yellow, spotted with crimson, quite dissimilar from the others. The plant in question is a most remarkable one, and we may say that it is the finest specimen we have had the good fortune to behold. Great credit is due to Mr. Bergman for the production of such a specimen. The eleven spikes were, we understand, cut and sent to the Baroness in London. Gardening is well carried on at Ferrières; every department is well kept. There are many thousands of plants grown for purposes of decoration, which is kept up through the whole year. The mansion is a splendid structure, and the grounds are beautifully laid out, abounding with fine trees, and provided with lakes. In fact, it is one of the finest and best kept garden establishments we have seen, and great praise is due to those who have the management of it.—B. S. W.
PL. 107. SACCOLABIUM CURVIFOLIUM.
SACCOLABIUM CURVIFOLIUM.
[[Plate 107].]
Native of India (Nepal and Birmah) and Ceylon.
Epiphytal. Stem dwarf, erect, densely leafy. Leaves crowded, distichous, linear, obliquely præmorse, with an acute apex, deflexed, channelled towards the base, pale green. Racemes erect from the upper axils, six inches long, densely flowered, the peduncles pale green, bracteate, the pedicels red, six-angled, with a small ovate bracteole at the base. Flowers bright cinnabar-red, about an inch across, somewhat concave; dorsal sepal obovate, with a claw-like base, entire; lateral sepals somewhat broader at the base, and unequal-sided, all spreading, and of a uniform dense cinnabar-red; petals of the same form as the dorsal sepal, and of a similar tint of colour; lip with a cylindraceous obtuse spur over a quarter of an inch long, to the front side of which is attached a tongue-like linear lamina, truncately-emarginate at the apex, and having a central paler orange rib with two knobs at the top of the spur-tube; at the back of the spur are two short erect lobes, which are convex outwardly, and with a boss or protuberance on the inner surface; lip more orange than the sepals, the processes at the end of the spur yellow; spur of the same colour as the lip. Column short, deep red, semi-terete, the angle winged upwards, the anther-case tinted with violet.
Saccolabium curvifolium, Lindley, Genera and Species of Orchidaceous Plants, 222; Bateman, Second Century of Orchidaceous Plants, t. 130; Lemaire, L’Illustration Horticole, xii, t. 493.
Saccolabium miniatum, Hooker, Botanical Magazine, t. 5326—fide Bateman and Lemaire.
The Saccolabium rank among the richest and most beautiful of the Orchid family; indeed, there are some magnificent species among those cultivated in our Orchid houses, which we hope to figure as time passes on. In the present illustration we introduce to our subscribers one of the small growing kinds, and one of the most distinct which we have seen as regards its habit and the colour of its flowers. Our figure was taken from a well-grown plant in the fine collection of W. Lee, Esq., Downside, Leatherhead, whom we are glad to observe is collecting and cultivating, along with the other East Indian kinds, the best species and varieties of this genus that can be obtained.
Saccolabium curvifolium is a dwarf and compact-growing evergreen plant, seldom seen more than a foot in height, with foliage of a light green colour, about four or five inches in length. It is a free-blooming kind, producing in May and June its bright orange-scarlet flowers, which continue in a fresh state for weeks. It is a very slow growing plant, and is seldom seen forming large specimens. Sometimes masses of it are imported, and these when set upon blocks of wood form charming specimens. We saw one in the collection of the Comte de Germiny, in France, which was most beautiful—two feet in height, and well bloomed; this specimen, which was suspended from the roof of the house, had a remarkably fine effect.
This plant will do either on blocks of wood or in small suspended pans or baskets, so that, it gets all the light possible. We find the best material to cultivate it in is sphagnum moss and a few pieces of charcoal intermixed, and it must have good drainage; it requires very little moss, as the roots like to enjoy the moist atmosphere of the house. The species is found growing on trees where the roots get the full benefit of the light and air; and if we imitate this as nearly as possible as regards their roots, we shall not go far wrong. Of course in our Orchid houses the treatment varies, and consequently the plant will require a little shade. The temperature required is that of the East India house.