  ODONTOGLOSSUM CORONARIUM. ROYAL ODONTOGLOSSUM. O. (Trymenium) rhizomate caulescente, pseudobulbis brunneis ovalibus compressis monophyllis, foliis rigidis coriaceis basi canaliculatis acutis racemo multifloro dense racemoso subÆqualibus vel longioribus, bracteis linearibus canaliculatis ovario triplÔ brevioribus, sepalis petalisque subrotundis unguiculatis planis margine crispis, labello longÊ cuneato retuso basi auriculis unidentatis subfalcatis obtusis subtus in unam connatis acuto, inter auriculas tuberculis duobus hoc didymo illo inferiore simplici; clinandrio subserrato lobis rotundatis (Lindl.) Odontoglossum coronarium, Lindl. Folia Orchid.; Linden, Pescatorea, t. 47. Habitat in N. Grenada, propÈ La Baja, Pamplona, (alt. 7000 ft.,) Schlim. DESCRIPTION. A stout and rigid plant. Pseudobulbs oval, compressed, 3 or more inches long, of a brownish hue, placed at intervals on a stiff caulescent Rhizome. Leaves one on each pseudobulb, leathery, sharp-pointed, channelled near the base, a foot or more long, equal to or longer than the flower-scapes. Bracts linear channelled, only one third the length of the ovary. Racemes about a foot high, upright, bearing from a dozen to twenty flowers in a dense mass. Sepals and Petals equal, subrotund, unguiculate, smooth, with their margins crisp or curled, about an inch long, of a rich reddish coppery brown on the upper surface, shining as if they had been varnished, yellowish underneath. Lip yellow, retuse, about same length as the petals, obovate, rounded at apex, narrowed and wedge-shaped at the base, where the sides arrange themselves into two narrow blunt falcate horns which are united on the under side. Crest consisting of three processes. Column slightly curved with two truncate rounded wings. This species has been long known, but it was slow in making its appearance, and slow likewise in flowering after it had reached us. During the last four years both Messrs. Veitch and M. Linden have succeeded in importing it alive, but it has only produced flowers in two or three instances; the finest specimens I have seen being those exhibited by Lord Londesborough during the present spring (1874). Even in its native country it seems to be a shy flowerer. As it is never met with lower than 7000 feet on the mountains of Pamplona, it of course requires a cooler treatment than many of its congeners which affect a lower level. The shining surface of the sepals and petals is very remarkable, and has the appearance of being due to a coat of the best varnish. Another species, O. brevifolium, found in lofty mountains in Peru, is closely allied to this, if indeed, which I greatly doubt, it be anything more than a very high-level variety of it. Plate XXVIII Odontoglossum blandum.
Odontoglossum blandum. |
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