PL. 141. DENDROBIUM LINAWIANUM.
DENDROBIUM LINAWIANUM.
[[Plate 141].]
Native of China.
Epiphytal. Stems erect, club shaped, somewhat flattened, light green, one to two feet high, retaining the leaves for two years, when mature becoming deeply furrowed and swollen below the nodes, the internodes partially sheathed by the withered bases of the leaves: it is these tumid internodes which give the appearance of a necklace, whence the name moniliforme came to be applied, though erroneously, to the plant. Leaves distichous, oblong obtuse, obliquely emarginate, pea-green. Peduncles from the axils of the leaves of the two-year old stems, or from the joints whence the leaves have fallen, two to three flowered, with small acute appressed bracts. Flowers bright coloured and pleasing, three inches across; sepals oblong acute, venose, their base produced into a blunt striated spur, white below and of a bright rosy pink in the upper half; petals ovate, of the same colour as the sepals; lip ovate, cucullate, reflexed, obscurely three-lobed, attenuated at the base, and serrulate on the margin, with an elevated pubescent crest along the disk, white below, having two crimson spots about the centre, the apical portion wholly rich magenta-crimson. Column short, the lip articulated at the end of its prolonged base.
Dendrobium Linawianum, Reichenbach fil. MS.; Id., Walpers’ Annales Botanices Systematicæ, vi., 284.
Dendrobium moniliforme, Lindley, Botanical Register, t. 1314, non Swartz; Hooker, Botanical Magazine, t. 4153; Paxton, Magazine of Botany, iii., 77; Maund, Botanist, iv., t. 194; Annales de Gand, 1847, t. 137.
This Dendrobium Linawianum is a very old inhabitant of our Orchid houses, and a most distinct and beautiful kind; it is better known, however, under the name of D. moniliforme, which was formerly applied to it in error, but which it will no doubt long retain. Amongst the older race of Orchid cultivators, we used to exhibit it under the name of D. moniliforme at the Chiswick and Regent’s Park Exhibitions, where it was shown in the form of large specimen plants, and formed one of the prettiest and most distinct looking Orchids in the show. Although amongst the numerous novelties, which have since been introduced, there have been many which produce splendid flowers as regards size, form, and colour, there has been one only that is at all similar to the present species, and that, which Professor Reichenbach has named D. nobile formosanum, and which is very much like D. Linawianum both in its growth and in its flowers, we imported about two years ago from the Island of Formosa. The drawing, of our present subject, was taken from a remarkably fine specimen grown in the collection of G. W. Law-Schofield, Esq., New-Hall-Hey, Rawtenstall, near Manchester; the specimen was about two feet high and as much through, and was one mass of blossoms. Mr. Wise, the gardener, tells us it has flowered in this way for several years; and we may safely say that it is one of the best grown plants that have yet come under our notice.
Dendrobium Linawianum is an evergreen species with flattish club-shaped stems, which are of a light green colour, and remarkable for becoming swollen just beneath the nodes. The leaves are of a pea-green colour, and the flowers are borne on the stems of the second year, in twos or threes at every node. The sepals and petals are white at the base, and bright rosy pink in the upper half, while the lip is white, beautifully tipped with bright magenta-crimson. The flowers are produced during the winter and spring months, and last in perfection for two or three weeks. It may be had in flower much later by retarding the plant after it has finished its growth.
The present is a free-growing species if the plant is in good health. It begins to grow when the flowering is over, and this is the best time for repotting if the plant requires it; but care must be taken not to over pot it, as this is dangerous in some cases, especially if the soil should get into a bad state, for then the roots go rotten, and the plant becomes sickly. If this should happen, shake away all the soil from the roots and wash them well, afterwards repotting the plant in as small a pot as the roots will allow; the fresh roots will then begin to work about the new soil. Good drainage must always be given; and the plant must be well elevated above the rim of the pot. The most suitable potting material is good rough fibrous peat mixed with lumps of charcoal, which will keep the soil open, and allow the water to pass off freely. Over watering is dangerous, but the plants require to be kept moderately moist at the roots during the growing season. To avoid risk from excess of water, the pots should be three parts full of drainage material. When the growth is completed, give sufficient water to keep the stems plump until they show signs of flowering; then give a little once or twice a week, the quantity and frequency of the application depending mainly on the nature of the potting material; if it be rough and porous, the plant will require it, and a slight syringing over the soil and among the roots during a warm day, will also be beneficial.
We grow our plants at the cool end of the East Indian house, giving them plenty of light, and no more shade than is necessary to keep the foliage from burning. Light is the grand agent in ripening the stems; and it is thorough ripeness which induces them to make vigorous growth, and to develope their flowers freely.
Propagation is effected by dividing the stems just as they begin to start into growth, leaving two or three old bulbs at the back of the new one. It is the better plan to cut them a short time before they are parted; and this should be done with great care. After dividing, place them each in a small pot, with good drainage, and similar potting material to that previously recommended. They thrive well in sphagnum moss, but we prefer the peat.
