ODONTOGLOSSUM INSLEAYI, Undi.
I N S L E A Y ' S O D O N T O G L O S S U M.
O. (EUODONTOGI.OSSUM, Lindl.) pseudobulbis ovatis compressis diphyllis, folns coriaceis
oblongo-ensiformibus subundulatis apice recurvis racemo 5-10-floro crecto ngido brevioribus,
sepalis petalisque oblongis subaequalibus undulatis infimis connatis, labello
angusto obovato retuso basi auriculato, disci crista apice biloba dilatata utnnque 111
medio dentc refracto aucta, columnaj alis incurvis cirrliatis. (Lindl. Fol. Orch.)
ONCIDIUM INSLEAYI, Barker in Sot. Reg. 1840, Misc. 21; Bateman, Orchid. Mex. et Grnt. t. 21; Van HouHe, Flore des Serres,
1848, t. 62.
Habitat in MEXICO, Barker ,• OAXACA, Loddiges; 5-6000 ft.
DESCRIFIION.
PSEUDOBULBS ovate, slightly furrowed, compressed, bearing 2 leathery, sword-shaped, sharp-pointed LEAVES, which are
less than afoot long, and lite the rest of the plant of a glaucous hue. SCAPE upright, longer than the leaves, bearing
from 5 to 10 flowers, usually from 2 to 3 inches in diameter, but sometimes considerably more. BBACTS few,
about an inch long, occurring at intervals somewhat longer than themselves, and fitting tightly to the stem. SEPALS
and PETALS nearly equal, oblong, waved, the two lateral ones attached at their base, of a pale yellowish-green tint,
crossed throughout their entire length by broad bands of reddish-brown. LIP narrow, obovate, turned a little back, of
a bright yellow colour, bordered by a belt of red blotches; on its disk are a group of tubercles, mounting two teeth on
either side, and with cleft callus in front. COLUMN-WIUGS bent inwardand resembling info i lie te <e f
insect.
This Odontoglossum was originally introduced from Mexico by the late Mr. Barker, of Birmingham, after whose
gardener it was named by Dr. Lindley. It flowered with Mr. Barker somewhere about the year 1840, when a figure was prepared
for the ' Orchidaceaj of Mexico and Guatemala,' but I had not then the opportunity of examining the plant, nor
indeed did I ever actually see it in flower until the autumn of last year (1863) when I happened to meet with the
specimen from which the illustration is derived, growing and blooming vigorously in the collection of Dr. Cauty, of
Liverpool. The species had, in fact, virtually disappeared from collections during an interregnum of twenty years, and
its reappearance is entirely due to the adoption of the rational system of cool treatment now happily prevailing, and
under which it may be cultivated with the greatest ease.
In habit O. Insleayi is quite indistinguishable from O. grande; and although its flowers arc far inferior in beauty to
those of that glorious species, they bear a certain sort of resemblance to them in their colouring and general arrangement.
The structure is however entirely different, for while 0. grande has no bristle-like appendages to its column, and
therefore belongs to the section of the genus which has been called XANTHOGLOSSUH by Dr. Lindley, the processes in
question are clearly present (see Dissections) in the case of O. Insleayi, thereby bringing it under the preceding
section, to which the title of ECODONTOGLOSSUM has been given by the same authority. The time and mode of flowering
are also different in the two plants, for while in O. grande the flower-scapes appear almost simultaneously with the leaves,
and are usually in perfection in July, those of O. Insleayi are not produced until long after the pseudobulbs have been
matured, nor do they expand their blossoms until late in the autumn.