O D O N T O G L O S S U M CERVANTESII uav.dLcx
VAR. DECORUM RM.f.
jvulis angubtis, foliis solitariis oblorgis
cloiigatis, sepal is mem bran accis oblongo-ls
cyatliiformi pubcscenw anlice biclenUto medic
id, XXXII., I. 34;J3ot. Mag
m argustatis, scapo paueifloro,
pclalis Utioribui subunguiculatis acuUs,
proccssubus 2 pilosis ante cyalhum.
ODONTOCLOSSUM CLIRVANTEL
braeteis vaginisque membranaccis acutissimis
l.-ibcllo subcordato-ovato aculo ungiiiculato u
column® piibesccntibus auriculis rotundalis.
ODONTOGI.OSSUM CERVANTESI:, Llav. et Lex. Nov, Veg. Dcscr., II., Orch, Opusc, (1824-5),
Odont., p 10; Taxt. Fl. Gard., I., p. 69, t. 15 | id, Mag. Bot, XIl„p. ip3, cum ic.; 111. Hort,, I., t. 12 ;
t. 5 ; 11!. Hort, XXV,, t 313 ; Vcitch JIan. Orch., pL i, PP-.^S'^^'®'
VAR. DECORUIL- I'loribus majoribus, labcllo crciiiilato.
VAR. DECORUM, Rchb. r. Card Cliron., tS?;, pt. 1, p. 219; id., 1878, pt. i, p.43; l"l. Mag,, n, s., 187;, t 254, Warn. & Will. Orchid A1
Odontoglossum Cen-anlesii >vas originally discribcd upwards of sixty years ago by the Mexican botanisK La Llavo and Lexaria.and
been first Inlroduecd to England by Messrs. Loddiges, of Hackney, from the neighbourhood of Oaxaca, about llic year 1S44, as it flon-ered n
in February, 1845, wlien a figure was prepared for the Bctamcal Regular. It is dedicated to Vincentio Cervnnles, a Mexican professor of boi;
chieny in South Mexico, but is said to range over a considerable extent of country, from Ihe Ir.ipean mounBins southwards into Guatemala,
variable, both in size and colour. In the latter respect it varies from pure white to light rose in the ground colour, and in the extent of the
sepals and petals. It is closely allied to O, Eossii, Lindl, but is readily distinguished by important differences in ihe
general shape and colour of the flower. The variety decor\im, here figured, seems to have appeared tor
Trevor Lawrence, Bart., M.P., at a meeting of Ihe Royal Horticultural Society on February
improvment on the old O. Cervantesii. both in size of flower, denser markings, and brighter colc
distinct geographical variety, but its habitat does not appear to have been recorded.
.877, when it was exhibited by Sir
awarded a First-class Certificate ns a great
The lip is also distinctly crcnulate. Il may possibly be a
THIS is the largest and most handsome variety of this charming little Odontoglot, being extremely i-dre and exquisitely
charming in its singular colouring and the great size and beauty of its flowers as compared with the type. It is found
only in a small district in Mexico on the Pacific side, never occuring among the plants whose habitat is on the border
of Guatemala. The variety known as decorum, Rchb, f„ is heavily blotched at the upper part of the lip, and the spotting
in the sepals and petals across the \vhole lower half of them, forming a pcrfcctly circular ring. Odontoglossum Cervantesii
has been known for fifty years, and such large quantities have been gathered from time to time that it has now bccome
very scarce, occuring only in small quantities, at long distances apart, in isolated woods, generally growing on a species
of oak. Tens of thousands of trees on which this species grew in great numbers have within the last twenty years
been felled for various purposes, and hundreds of thousands of plants destroyed ; this is mainly due to the ever-increasing
railroad making in Mexico.
r t succeeds well in the Odontoglossum house near the glass—not so much on account of the extra light it receives
in such a position as the cool humidity with which it is surrounded. In its native home rain falls more or less for eight
months of the year, and heavy nightly dews are the rule. It may be said that the pseudo-bulbs and leaves of this plant
are every night bathed in moisture, which is usually dried up by the sun or wind of the morning. The roots traverse the
rough bark of the trees, under a caqjet of moss and lichen, which in the morning sun glisten with drops of water like a
myriad of brilliants. A very interesting collection might be formed of this and similar small-growing kinds—perfect
orchid gems which would occupy only a small space.
Our plate was taken from a plant in the collection of W, E. B, Famham, Esq., Quom Lodge, Loughborough.
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