ODONTOGLOSSUM PESCATOREI, LINDTEY.
M . P E S C A T O R E ' S O D O N T O G L O S S U M.
O. (ISANTHIUM, Lindl.) pseudobulbis ovatis kevigatis nebulosis dipliyllis, foliis loratis planis basi
augustatis panicula ampla erecta multiflora 3-plo brevioribus, bracteis minutis, floribus
membranaceis, sepalis ovato-oblongis apiculatis leviter undulatis, pctalis conformibus
latioribus, labello cuspidato subpandurato basi denticulate, cristas lamellis lateralibus
distantibus cartilagineis laceris liueis duabus divcrgentibus apice denticulatis intcrjectis,
column® brevis alis brevibus cuneatis laceris. (Lindl. Fol. OrcL, quibusdam mutatis.)
ODONTOGLOSSUM PERCATOREI, Lindley, in Paxton's Flower Garden, iii. /. 90 ; 1'cscatorea, 1.1; Warner's Select Orchidaceous Plants, t. 25.
ODONTOGLOSSUM NOBILE, Reichenbach fil. in Linneca, 22, 850.
Habitat in NEW GRANADA, Province of Pamplona, at the height of from 5000 to G000 feet, Funek and Schlim.
DESCRIPTION.
PSEUDOBULBS from 2 to 3 inches long, of an ovate form, glossy, and mottled with dark brown, usually bearing 2 lorale
LEAVES, which are from G inches to a foot long, narrowed at the base and sharp at the end, much shorter than the
tall upright branched PANICLE, ichich sometimes rises to the height of 3 feet, and bears from 0 to GO membranous
FLOWERS of a peculiarly delicate texture. BRACTS very small. SEPALS ovate-oblong, apiculate, slightly waved at the
edges, an inch long, white with streaks of rose-colour. PETALS similar in form and texture to the sepals, but broader
and more curled at the edges, of the purest while. LIP inclining to fiddle-shape, pointed, but with the point invisible
when looked at in front; towards the base are two short upright tubercles that pass forward into plates diverging from
each other, and toothed in front. On either side are two pseudo-icings, irregularly indented, and, like the plates, of
a beautiful gold colour, streaked with red. The rest of the lip is while, with the exception of a few irregular blotches
of crimson, the number and size and disposition of which vary considerably in different individuals. COLUMN short,
with short wedge-shaped "WINGS, a little indented at the edges.
This lovely plant was discovered in the year 1847 by Mil. Funek and Schlim when on a botanical mission to New
Granada, in the service of M. Linden. According to its discoverers, it is not unfrequently met with in the provinces of
Pamplona and Ocana, at an elevation above the sea-level of about 5000 feet, inhabiting the oak forests which—where
the climate is mild—clothe the eastern slopes of the glorious Cordillera.
O. Pescatorei flowered with M. Linden for the first time in 1851, and attracted, as well it might, universal
admiration. Nothing indeed, even in the beautiful family to which it belongs, can surpass the delicacy of its blossoms,
with their charming mixture of rose and white, relieved by a few deep-crimson stains scattered irregularly over the lip. Its
habit too is good, and its stately panicle of flowers well-proportioned to the size of the bulbs and leaves. It blooms
abundantly in the spring months, and its blossoms continue at least six weeks in perfection. We need not wonder that a
plant with such a rare combination of good qualities should have been selected by M. Linden to do honour to his
patron the late M. Pcseatore, after whom he named it, and in whose sumptuous work (' Pescatorea') it forms the
first plate.
Although the species, owing to the difficulty of importing it alive, is still exceedingly rare in this country, it has
already flowered in many of the principal collections, especially in those of Mr. Eucker, Mr. Basset, Mr. Day, and