_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.
[Illustration]
NOTES.
[1] The mention of the illustrious traveller's name reminds me of the
obligations under which he laid me when I first visited Berlin, in the
spring of 1836; for, young as I was, he deigned to pour into my
delighted ears all the stores of Orchid-lore collected during his
memorable wanderings among the Andes of New Grenada and Peru. Here, he
said, the greatest store of beauteous Orchids was to be found, and we
are now beginning to realize the truth of his remark.
[2] Cool Orchids from the interior of South America, have either to be
carried across the Andes, where the intense cold of the passes is often
fatal to them, or to be conveyed by a tedious voyage down the great
rivers, where the heat is greater than their constitution--often
delicate--can endure. In this way whole importations have been lost,
including, I am sorry to say, one or two cargoes of the exquisite
_Odontoglossum Warczewitzii_ (figured in Reichenbach's "Xenia") which
still unhappily remains a desideratum.
[3] As most of the _Odontoglossa_ require to be treated in the same way, I
transcribe, from the 'Guide to Cool-Orchid Growing' (Reeve, 1864), the
following instructions for the culture of the genus:--"They will all
succeed perfectly in a low lean-to house facing the north, the mean
temperature of which need not exceed 60°. They should stand on a shelf
of slate or stone, near the glass, but should always be protected from
the direct rays of the sun. Constant humidity should be maintained by
damping the shelves and floors, but the plants themselves will only
require water in moderation, and what is given to them should pass away
freely, for if it stagnates, or if the compost in which they grow
becomes sodden, the roots will immediately decay. A gentle evaporation
is greatly assisted by placing layers of moss--to be kept damp of
course--on the shelves whereon the plants stand. _Odontoglossa_ cannot
endure wooden blocks, but will thrive in a compost of which one-half
consists of small broken potsherds, the remainder being a mixture of
shredded sphagnum (dusted with fine sand) and fibrous peat. About
one-third of the entire depth of the pots may be filled with this
mixture, the other two-thirds containing nothing but large pieces of
broken pots, so as to admit as much air as possible to the roots. The
pots in which the plants are grown should stand on other pots
(inverted) placed in saucers of water, in order to secure humidity and
protect them from wood-lice. Nearly all the species flower during the
winter or spring months, a circumstance that greatly enhances their
value. Many, _e. g._ _O. pulchellum_, are deliciously fragrant, and the
flowers of nearly all the species remain in perfection for weeks,
whether left on the plants or cut for bouquets. In so vast a genus we
shall, no doubt, meet with many idiosyncrasies, but nine-tenths of the
species will flourish under the treatment indicated above, and which
may be regarded as suitable to the majority of cool Orchids. Most
_Odontoglossa_ are, like the _Masdevallias_, very impatient of the
knife, and cannot therefore be rapidly multiplied. They have also a
peculiar aversion to fumigation by tobacco, which causes their leaves
to fall off."
[4] The idea that _Cuitlauzina pendula_ might possibly be identical with
_Odontoglossum citrosmum_ had more than once occurred to myself, but
Lexarza's character of the flower-scape,--which he described as
"_bracteis destitutus_,"--had always proved an insuperable difficulty.
It seems, however, that the scapes of the other _Odontoglossa_ that he
met with happened to be entirely clothed with large inflated bracts;
our present plant therefore, in which they occur only at long intervals
and are exceedingly minute, may in comparison be said to be almost
"destitute" of them.
[5] Mr. Skinner has lately received from Guatemala some magnificent
specimens of _O. grande_, which are incorporated with _masses of Fern_
and other shade-loving plants. Cultivators might make a good practical
use of the well-known maxim "_noscitur a sociis_" in this case.
[6] I copy Sir Robert's description of the locality in which these plants
were found, in the hope that some collector may be induced to visit so
interesting a region:--"The _Diothonea_ was met with on the high
mountain-chain between the sixty-fifth and sixty-sixth meridian and the
fourth parallel of latitude, at an elevation of 6-7000 feet above the
sea-level. The summits of those elevations are thickly covered with two
species of Lichen, the white colour of which conveys the supposition
that the ground is covered with snow. The thermometer stood frequently
in the morning at 57° F., which, connected with the snow-white Lichens,
powerfully reminded us of a winter landscape. Indeed, the stunted
trees, with grey tortuous branches, would have assisted to make the
picture complete, if numerous _Orchidaceæ_, conjointly with green
Mosses, had not clothed them. Indeed, it was the _Orchidaceæ_ alone
that gave the vegetation a tropical aspect.... We discovered the
_Maxillaria_ near Mount Maravaca."--_Lindl. Sert. Orch._ _sub t._ xl.
[7] I allude of course to those remarkable works of Dr. Lindley, the
_Orchidearum Genera et Species_ and the _Folia Orchidacea_ (the latter
of which he was not destined to complete), with which the science of
Orchidology may be said to have arisen, and which will continue its
text-books for all time to come.
[8] It may be well, once for all, to state that in the case of species that
have not been long imported, and which have therefore not had time to
acquire their full strength, the number and arrangement of flowers in
the figures is taken from native specimens where such are available. It
sometimes happens that the "wild" standard is never reached in
cultivation, but it is more frequently exceeded.
End of Project Gutenberg's A Monograph of Odontoglossum, by James Bateman