DISSECTIONS.--1. Front view of lip and column; 2. Side view of ditto:
_magnified_.
Plate VII
[Illustration: Odontoglossum hastilabium.]
PLATE VII.
ODONTOGLOSSUM HASTILABIUM, _Lindley_.
HALBERT-LIPPED ODONTOGLOSSUM.
O. (Isanthium, _Lindl._) pseudobulbis ovatis compressis 1-2-phyllis,
foliis oblongis coriaceis, paniculæ exaltatæ ramis spicatis, bracteis
cymbiformibus acuminatis ovario æqualibus, sepalis petalisque
lineari-lanceolatis acuminatis undulatis, labello apice subrotundo-ovato
acuto basi auriculis acutis lanceolatis porrectis aucto, lamellis 5
elevatis, columnæ alis obsolete undulatis, margine versus basin
membranaceo dilatato.
ODONTOGLOSSUM HASTILABIUM, _Lindley_, _Orchid. Linden._ _n._ 84;
_Hooker_, _Bot. Mag._ _t._ 4272; _Pescatorea_, _t._ 11.
Habitat in NOV. GRANADA: Tesqua, in the province of Pamplona, at the
elevation of 2500 feet, April, _Linden_; on the road from Santa Martha to
the Sierra Nevada, _Purdie_; Ocaña, January, 5-6000 feet, _Schlim_,
_Wagener_, _Blunt_.
DESCRIPTION.
PSEUDOBULBS _compressed, ovate, 3 to 6 inches long, bearing 1 or 2
oblong, leathery_ LEAVES, _not more than a third the length of the
scape_. BRACTS _boat-shaped, acuminate, equal in length to the ovary_.
SCAPE _very robust, from 2 to 6 feet high, panicled, bearing from 20 to
100 flowers_. SEPALS _and_ PETALS _1½ to 2 inches long,
linear-lanceolate, acuminate, slightly waved at the margin, of a
pale-green, barred with numerous lines of dark-red or purple_. LIP
_halbert-shaped, purple at the base, but white in its upper portion,
which is of a roundish-ovate form, pointed at the extremity; its crest
consists of 2 outer and 2 interior plates, the taller stretching forward
beyond the former, with a linear-oval callosity in the centre_. COLUMN
_expanding at its base on either side into an inflexed membrane_.
As this stately _Odontoglossum_ is met with at a much lower elevation than
any of its congeners, it is constitutionally less impatient of heat, and
has therefore been able to accommodate itself to artificial conditions
under which others of its race in former years have pined and died. But
although in some parts of New Granada it descends as low as 2500 feet, its
more frequent range is 2000 feet higher up the mountains, and it is in such
situations that it attains its greatest luxuriance and beauty. Some
imported specimens that I was fortunate enough to see last year (1864) at
the Clapton Nursery, whither they had been sent by Mr. Blunt, had
flower-stems half an inch thick and fully 6 feet high. These were gathered
at an elevation of at least 4000 feet above the sea-level and, as they
arrived in excellent condition and have been extensively distributed, I
have little doubt we shall ere long see cultivated specimens that may vie
with the wild ones in stature and magnificence. Its flowering season is the
spring or early summer.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account