The figure is taken from a plant that flowered in Mr. Day's collection in the autumn of 1865, the flowers of which were twice the size of those of a plant that flowered with me,--but still larger varieties have since appeared in the collections of Lord Egerton of Tatton and Mr. Wentworth Buller.
The species, being found at an elevation of 8000 feet or more, requires very "cool" treatment, and should be referred to what--for reasons stated under Plate XX.--I propose to call the "Peruvian house." In this it is very easily grown, and flowers freely.
The markings in the dried specimens being much deeper than in the fresh flowers, led Dr. Lindley to give it a name (_O. luteo-purpureum_) which is scarcely applicable to any variety that has yet appeared,--no _purple_ tints having been observed.
DISSECTIONS.--1. Front view of lip and column; 2. Side view of ditto: _magnified_.
[Illustration: Odontoglossum Bictoniense.]
O. (LEUCOGLOSSUM) pseudobulbis oblongis compressis 2-3-phyllis, foliis ensiformibus undulatis patentibus scapo racemoso duplo brevioribus, bracteis herbaceis lanceolatis acuminatis ovario duplo brevioribus, sepalis petalisque subæqualibus lineari-lanceolatis maculatis, labelli ungue bilamellato limbo cordato acuminato undulato, columnæ alis transverse oblongis integris.
CYRTOCHILUM BICTONIENSE, _Bateman_, _Orch. Mex. et Gua._ _t._ 6.
ZYGOPETALUM AFRICANUM, _Bot. Mag._ _t._ 3812.
Habitat in GUATEMALA, _Skinner_; circa 6-7000 ped. alt.
PSEUDOBULBS _oblong, 3 to 6 inches long, somewhat compressed, bearing 2 or 3_ LEAVES, _which are sword-shaped, spread open, much shorter than the upright purple many-flowered_ SCAPE. _The latter, in its normal state, is unbranched, and destitute of leaves, but in the variety represented in the Plate has numerous branches, and is leafy at the extremities_. BRACTS _herbaceous, lanceolate, acuminate, not half the length of the ovary_. SEPALS _and_ PETALS _nearly equal, linear-lanceolate, light-green spotted, or banded with brown_. LIP _with a bilamellate claw and a heart-shaped, acuminate limb, waved at the margin. In most cases the lip is white or nearly so, in others it has more or less of a rosy or purplish tint_. COLUMN-WINGS _transversely oblong, entire_.