  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. The figure was taken in May last from a plant in Mr. Rucker's collection where it is grown at the coolest end of the Cattleya-house. Dissection.—1. Front view of lip and column; 2. Side view of ditto: magnified. Plate VIII Odontoglossum grande.
Odontoglossum grande. |
|
