  ODONTOGLOSSUM ROEZLII. ROEZL'S ODONTOGLOSSUM. O. (PhalÆnopsidea) affine O. vexillario, pseudobulbis ovato-oblongis ancipitibus compressis 1-2-phyllis, foliis lineari-ligulatis inferne striatis pedunculis 1-3-floris longioribus; sepalis oblongo-ligulatis acutis, petalis sublatioribus; labello a basi angust sagittat cuneato flabellato obtuse bilobo; carinis ternis in im basi; preposit lamell transvers seu callis parvis geminis; column apterÂ. Odontoglossum Roezlii, Rchb. fil. Xenia Orchidacea, ii.; idem in Gard. Chron. p. 1302, (cum Xylo) 1873. Habitat in N. Grenada, Roezl; Backhouse in Gard. Chron. p. 1334, (1873). DESCRIPTION. A compact plant, of which the Pseudobulbs are ovate-oblong, 1-2 inches long and much compressed; these bear one or two bright green linear acute Leaves, which are remarkable for their parallel streaks—nine in number—on the under side, and are from six to ten inches long, and about ½ inch wide. The Scapes or Peduncles are shorter than the leaves, and bear from one to three (possibly more) large and beautiful flowers, which with the exception of some markings at the base of the petals and on the lip are of snowy whiteness. Sepals oblong-ligulate pointed at the extremity, fully an inch long. Petals rather wider than the sepals and with a rich crimson blotch at their base. Lip wedge-shaped, expanding from a narrow sagittate base into a broad two-lobed disk, an inch and a half wide, white with some bright yellow markings near the foot and in the region of the Crest; the latter being formed by three slightly raised "carinÆ" or ridges near the base on either side, traversed by two moderate sized calli placed in front. Column wingless. This is a most charming Odontoglossum, allied to the preceding and to O. phalÆnopsis, but perfectly distinct from either. Its bright green narrow leaves—streaked like those of Saccolabium Blumei, at once distinguish the plant, even when out of flower, from its fascinating rival O. vexillarium; which always bears a glaucous hue, and which has larger and broader foliage, and produces double the number of flowers on a scape. The first rumours that reached us of the plant led to a suspicion that it might, after all, be only a variety of O. vexillarium, but these unworthy fears were at once dispelled by the flowering of the plant itself at Mr. Bull's nursery in the early part of last September, when Mr. Fitch prepared his drawing, and Professor Reichenbach obtained materials for the description which appeared in the Gardeners' Chronicle of September 27, 1873. The Professor has also given, in his Xenia, a characteristic representation of the wild plant constructed from the specimens supplied to him by its fortunate discoverer, Mr. Roezl; in whose honour the species is very properly named. It is a native of New Grenada, and, like O. vexillarium, appears to be exceedingly rare; we must not, therefore, murmur if the precise locality—of which the knowledge is a fortune in itself—should be for awhile withheld. But there would have been no harm in telling us the approximate elevation of the native habitat, as the same is always important as a clue to culture; especially in the case of plants with a limited range. In this instance I apprehend that both O. Roezlii and O. vexillarium are not found at a very high level and that therefore—though happily entitled to rank among "cool" Orchids—they must be placed in the warmer division of the "cool" Orchid-house. The woodcut represents, for purposes of comparison, two nearly allied Odontoglossa, viz., O. pulchellum and O. Egertonianum; they both come from the same country (Guatemala) and closely resemble each other in habit—only that the pseudobulbs of the latter have much the sharper edges—but the flowers are very different. The spikes of O. Egertonianum (2) are a sort of Orchid-imitation of the racemes of the "Lily of the Valley," though unfortunately they have no perfume, while those of O. pulchellum (1) emit a delicious, almond-like odour, not very unlike that of Gardenia radicans; they are, moreover, very chaste and beautiful, and are freely produced during the winter months. Under these circumstances the species has long since become, what it well deserved to be, an established popular favourite. Yet on its introduction some five-and-thirty years ago—I had then just received the plant from my lamented friend Mr. G. U. Skinner—its first feeble attempts to flower left such an impression of its insignificance upon my mind, that I churlishly refused it a place among the magnates of its family in "The OrchidaceÆ of Mexico and Guatemala" on which I was then engaged! But greater discrimination in the treatment of our plants—in other words the recognition of the system of "Cool-Orchid-growing"—has led to a more just appreciation of its merits. |
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