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TAB XXIV.
ODONTOGLOSSUlVr GRANDE
G H E A T ODONTOGLOS SUJ f l .
ODONTOGLOSSUM gi-aiide: pseuclo-bulbis aggregatis ovato-oblongis compressis iincipitibus dipliyllis
foliis lanceolatis acutis scapo paucitbro cluplò brevioribus, sepalis lunccolutis hitera)ibus convexis falcatis
peUilisque oblongis obtusiusculis latìoribiis subundulatis, labello subrotundo basi auriculato sepalis [)lus
duplò breviore : tuberculis basi tribus corrugatis aliisque lateralibus denti-formibus minoribus, columnai
tomentosie marginibus rotundatis convexis incui'vis, Lind. in Bot. Reg. Misc. 1S40. No. 94.
Habitat in Guatevialà.—SKINNER.
Dcscríptíolí.
PSEUDO-BVLBS ill dense masses, of an ocaie or ovate-oblouy shajie, Jlattened and sharp at llw.
edges, from one to four inches long, slighthj furroiced, and of a glaucous cast, bearing two lanceolate,
bluish green L£ÁVES, half a foot or more long, and sprinkled on the wider side with .•imall
black dots. From among the small sheathing haves ichieh clothe the base of the psmdo-bvlbs springs
the erect SCAPE, jnirtially enveloped in large, elose-fittiug, greyish BRACTS, of the thickness of a
swan's qnill, rising to twice the height of the leaves, and bearing from three to eight FLUWEHS, of
great size and beauty. SEPALS hmceoiutc, the lateral ones falcate, three inches or more in length;
PETALS broader than the sqials, oblong, somewhat obtuse, mucronate, icaved at the edges;—both
petals and sepaU hace a greenish yclloio ground, on which large blotches and streahs of the richest
chesnut are irregularly scattered, earying exceedingly in different xpecimens. LIP xuigniailate,
almost round, not half the length of the sepals, of a dirty white, decorated with conccntric brown
streaks, ichicii, although arranged closely at the point where they spring, disappear almost entirely
in front ; at the base three large tiisk-lihe TUBERCLES are stationed, which are of the richest orange
colour, spotted with red. The CoiuJiy is slightly downy, and its convex rounded margins have an
inward direction, of a yellowish cast, excepting near the base, which is almost white.
T i n s noble plant may well be described by its discoverer—Mr. SICINNRH—as among the most
masnii'icent onianicnts oi" the Orcliidaceous Flora of Guatemala. In brilliancy of colour, if it yield to
certain species of Lee/ia and Cattleya, it must confessedly be placed at the head of the vast group of South
American Yandcce, curious and beautiful though they be: for not merely does it surpass the whole oi" its
o\Mi extensive genus, ])Ut likewise sill the known species of Oncidium, Cyrtochilim, and other allied foms.
These remarks^must however be understood to apply solely to the superior varieties, for there are otliers
which, in the size of the tlowei-s and the distribution of the colours, are greatly inferior to the one represented
in the Plate.
Odonloglosxum gramle delights, according to ¡Mr. SKiNNEU,in situations wher e the mean teinpeniturc
scarcely exceeds (50°; but. althougli a great degree of heat may not be essential to its weliarc, still it fortunately
soon accommodates itself to the ordinary routine of culture that its tribe reccive in England. Two
varieUes luive tlowered at Knypereley (the one in August, the other in October 1840), each bearing four
ilowci-s on a spike, the plants being tlien young and weak, but they have subseciuently attained to a vigour
of growth that leaves little doubt Uicy will eventuidly produce tlie full complement of tlowers, which, in
native specimens, is sometimes not less tluin eight!
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