It is of easy cultivation, and not only free-growing but also free-blooming. It does well in the Cattleya house, planted in peat and moss, with good drainage, and it may be grown either in a pot or a basket, or on a block of wood, or on the stem of a tree fern, on which latter it is frequently imported from its native country. In its wild state, it appears naturally to creep up these fern stems, and it must look very beautiful growing in this way, since its drooping spikes cannot fail to have a good effect when thus seen hanging among the green foliage. It requires a good supply of water during the growing season, but, when at rest, less will suffice. The plant needs plenty of light, but it must be shaded from the fierce sun-rays during the summer months.
Lælia anceps Dawsoni.—One of the best specimens we have had the pleasure of seeing of _L. anceps Dawsoni_ is in the collection of R. S. Dodgson, Esq., Blackburn; it had four spikes of buds when we saw it in November last; since then we have received a spike of three flowers, and a very fine variety it is. Mr. Osman informs us that the plant has ten expanded blossoms. It is one of the best plants and as good a variety as we have met with; the sepals and petals are large, pure white, and of great substance; the lip is bright rosy purple edged with white, the throat orange, veined with purple. No doubt there are different varieties in cultivation which were imported along with this some years ago. Mr. Dodgson’s plant is grown suspended from the roof, and from its appearance this seems to be the best method of growing it to perfection. It likes plenty of light all the year round, and should be just kept shaded from the burning sun.
[Illustration: PL. 29. CŒLOGYNE MASSANGEANA.]
CŒLOGYNE MASSANGEANA. [Plate 29.] Native of Assam.
Epiphytal. _Pseudobulbs_ pyriform, three to four inches in height, smooth, bearing two leaves at the apex. _Leaves_ persistent, cuneate-oblong, acute, stalked, somewhat plicate, a foot and a half high including the stalk, and four inches broad. _Peduncle_ pendulous, produced from the base of the pseudobulbs, one and a half to two feet long, nigro-asperate; _bracts_ cuneate-oblong obtuse, much shorter than the pedicels. _Flowers_ showy, in loose racemes of two dozen or more, yellow with a brown lip; _sepals_ ligulate obtuse, somewhat keeled outside, light ochre-yellow; _petals_ linear-ligulate, of the same colour as the sepals; _lip_ three-lobed, concave, the side lobes semi-ovate, acute in front, of a beautiful maroon-brown with ochre-coloured veins, the middle lobe creamy white at the edge, with a large brown disk, short, transversely oval with an apiculus, and having three light yellow rather prominent toothletted keels extending from the base to the anterior lobe, and “six confluent rows of green retuse many-angled cells, reminding one of human molar teeth” in front of them. _Column_ light ochre-yellow, streaked with brown, winged in front, the anther-bed with a retuse membranous border.