The Woodlands Orchids, Described and Illustrated

No room for doubt! To make assurance doubly sure there was an inscription – ‘C. C.’s contribution to the adornment of this room.’

Hurriedly he sought a pencil and wrote – ‘Contribution accepted. Cypripedium collected, C. E.’

It was not such a smart réplique as the occasion seems to demand. But Ericsson is perfectly well satisfied with it to this day.

We can imagine how blithely he set to work that morning. Cypripedium Curtisii was selling in London at the moment for many guineas – a small plant too. And he had found the goose with golden eggs innumerable, waiting to be picked up. These orchids ‘travel’ well. There was no great distance to carry them before embarkation. The good fellow’s fortune was made, and he had the pleasure of knowing it well earned.

With such cheerful thoughts, Ericsson sallied out day after day for a while, searching the mountain. He had a following of miscellaneous ‘natives’ by this time, experienced in their work. The neighbourhood was rich. Every evening they brought in a load of orchids more or less valuable, but never Cypripedium Curtisii. He engaged men of the district and showed them the picture. Some recognised it, and undertook to bring specimens; but they were always mistaken. The invalids withdrew, one after another. Ericsson found himself alone. His accumulated spoil of plants, well worth shipping, began to be as much as he could transport. As time went by, despair possessed him. After all, it did not follow that Mr. Curtis had found the prize just here because he painted it on the wall. To discover a new and fine orchid is a great achievement, and the lucky man might very well commemorate it anywhere when choosing a device.

Finally, ‘time was up.’ To wait longer would be sacrificing the great heap of treasures secured. After shipping them he might return. It was a sad disappointment after such reasonable hopes, but things might have been worse. So Ericsson gave orders to pack and start as soon as possible. When all was ready, on the very evening before departure, one of the local assistants brought him a flower. This time it was right. In three days several thousand plants had been collected, and Ericsson went his way rejoicing.

No reader, I hope, will fancy that these coincidences are invented. The story would be childish as fiction. It is literal fact, and therefore only is it worth telling.

CYPRIPEDIUMS —Continued

William Lloyd (bellatulum × Swanianum). – The white crest of the dorsal rises from a dull crimson blur with greenish centre, overrun with crimson lines. The petals have a dull crimson ground, paler below, densely speckled with maroon, the ends just tipped with white. Slipper, shining maroon.

A de Lairesse (Curtisii × Rothschildianum). – The fine dorsal is white, with a greenish centre and faint purple edges, the lines clear purple. Petals long and drooping, pale green, edged with white; all covered with purple spots. Slipper, ochreous brown.

Juno (Fairieanum × callosum). – The broad white dorsal, green at base, tinged with purple, and strongly scored with purple lines, is actually the widest part of the flower, as in Fairieanum. The narrow petals curl down close upon the slipper, green in paler and darker shades, with bunches of purple hair, like those on a caterpillar, at the edges, and pale purple tips. Slipper, dusky greenish with brown lines.

Saide Lloyd (venustum × Godefroyae). – Dorsal small, bright green with darker lines. Petals purplish above, greenish below, speckled with small dots of crimson and strong spots of maroon. Slipper, ochreous yellow, dotted with crimson at top and netted with green.

Cymatodes (Curtisii × Veitchii). – The fine dorsal is green, fading to white, with a pretty narrow edging of pink, and boldly ribbed. The petals, dark at base, change to green, and towards the tips have an edging of profuse crimson specks. The slipper, very wide at the mouth, is greenish.

Dauthierii albino.– A wonderful sport. Up the grass-green dorsal, edged with white above, run strong lines of darker tone. The petals, very narrow at base, are yellowish green, suffused and lined with copper above, paler below. The slipper shows similar colouring.

On the same plant, open at the same time, but from another stem, was a flower of the common Dauthierii type. Still more remarkable, one year this second stem bore a flower of which half the dorsal was pale yellow, the other half coppery green, as is usual, thus betraying a futile inclination to rival its albino sister. The petals were scarcely affected, however.

Dauthierii marmoratum.– Another abnormal form. The point of the dorsal, and the high shoulders, are white, the rest crimson-maroon. From the point descend three or four broad lines, or long splashes, of green, with striking effect. The petals are marbled longitudinally with purple on a dusky ground. The lip is dull, dusky crimson.

Lord Derby (Rothschildianum × superbiens). – An immense flower – the grand dorsal rosy white, tinged with pale green in the middle, pale purple on either hand, dark lines circling upward over all. The petals, outlined with purple at the base, change to pale green, almost to white, below and at the tips. Great spots of darkest crimson stud the whole. Slipper maroon, greenish at the toe.

Evenor (Argus × bellatulum). – Ground-colour throughout ochreous yellow. The dorsal has a purplish base and maroon lines of dots. Broad round petals, closely spotted with maroon. Slipper purplish above, ochre below.

Excelsior (Rothschildianum × Harrisianum). – Dorsal long, high-shouldered, greenish, with darkest crimson edging lines of the same tint, and white margin. Petals depressed, of a like green, crimson along the upper edge, covered with the heavy spots and hairs of Rothschildianum. Slipper very long, dull crimson.

Engelhardtiae (insigne Maulei × Spicerianum). – The dorsal has very broad shoulders, narrowing to a wasp-waist, where the upper white changes abruptly to bright green, spotted with pink. A strong crimson line runs from base to tip. Petals so evenly curved downwards that they seem to make a half-circle, coppery yellow in hue, handsomely gauffered on the upper edge, and lined with copper colour. Immensely wide lip, coppery ochre with a bright green lining.

Edwardii (superbiens × Fairieanum). – Dorsal long, white-edged, stained at the margin with purplish crimson and lined with the same. Short narrow petals, very strongly bowed, greenish, edged throughout with purplish crimson. Slipper green at toe, coppery above.

Fairieanum.– No orchid is so interesting as this in the point of view which may be called historic. In the autumn of 1857, Mr. Reid of Burnham and Mr. Parker, nursery-man, of Holloway, sent flowers of it to Sir W. Hooker at Kew, asking what they might be. Shortly afterwards Mr. Fairie of Liverpool showed a plant in flower at the R.H.S. meeting, and Dr. Lindley named it after him. It is believed that all these plants were bought at Stevens’ Sale-rooms among a number of orchids forwarded from Assam. But none have turned up since, and attempts to find the habitat have been totally unsuccessful.

Those who expect to see a flower big in proportion to its fame will be disappointed; but if small, indeed very small, Cyp. Fairieanum is striking both in form and colour. The upstanding dorsal has a crest, from which the sides curl back. Its ground-colour is white with a greenish tinge. Broad lines of maroon fall downwards from the crest, lessening as they go, but multiplying towards the edges, where they form a close network. The petals curl as sharply as a cow’s horn, inverted at the tips to show a maroon lining; they are greenish above, with three sharp little maroon bars at the base, and slender lines of maroon; maroon also is the narrow edging. The shield of the column, small as it is, cannot be overlooked, for it shines like a jewel – exquisitely mottled with the brightest green, accentuated by a tiny arch of maroon on either side. Slipper greenish, with blurred lines of maroon.

Gertrude (Chamberlainianum × insigne Chantinii). – Dorsal white above, bright green below, heavily dotted in lines with crimson-brown. Petals finely gauffered, dusky crimson, spotted. The slipper, crimson-purple, looks very bright by contrast.

Tesselatum porphyreum (concolor × barbatum). – The pale ochreous tone of one parent and the purple of the other have produced a very remarkable result in combination. The general effect distinctly red. The round dorsal is reddish above, of a deeper shade at base, with dotted lines of red; the petals curve down, dark red at the base, fading towards the ends, which are clothed in a pretty network of pale red. The green slipper is clouded and netted over with crimson.

Telemachus (niveum × Lawrenceanum). – The dorsal, very broad, is tinged with purple in the centre. Crimson lines ascend from a green base and the margin all round is white. The petals are green, changing to purple, with darker lines and spots. Slipper crimson.

Tautzianum lepidum (niveum × barbatum Warneri). – A rosy flower, covered throughout with lines and network of crimson. The lip darker.

Georges Truffaut (ciliolare × Stonei). – Very large. The tall dorsal has crimson edges and lines, greenish centre. The twisted petals – greenish, with crimson lines, very large maroon spots and crimson-purple tips – hang loosely. An enormous slipper, all crimson-brown.

Mrs. E. G. Uihlein (villosum aureum × Leeanum giganteum). – The dorsal rises to a point between shoulders perfectly square, white, with a heavy slash of copper from base to crest; the centre greenish-coppery, with lines and mottling of pale crimson. Petals green in the upper half, clouded and lined with copper; paler below. Slipper similar.

Venustum (Measures variety). – A remarkable sport. Small. The white dorsal is striped with clear green lines, rising from a green cloud at the base. The ochreous copper petals have a green base. Slipper the same, covered with a pretty green network.

Watsonianum (Harrisianum nigrum × concolor). – The white crested dorsal shows a crimson line in the centre, green on either side, crimson towards the edges. The petals, dark green at base, fade to a paler tint, and the ends are crimson; all softly lined with crimson. Slipper maroon.

Woodlandsense (Dayanum × Javanicum virens). – Among the rare Cypripeds in this collection, I have noted several of which the dorsal sepal bore a cap, elaborate as eccentric in shape. But this is most singular of all. Between the point of the dorsal and the shoulder is a process which I can only describe in architectural language as a volute reversed; an addition so abnormal and inexplicable that I really find nothing to say about it. In other respects the dorsal is striking – handsomely rounded, white with a rosy margin, the vivid green at the base not fading softly but abrupt almost as a splash; petals the same vivid green, with maroon spots and a stain of copper at the ends. The rosy stamenode shows well upon this ground. Slipper pale green, with a pleasing network of copper.

Zeus (tonsum × Boxallii). – The white globular dorsal rises from a very slender green waist, with a broad dark-crimson line up the centre. Petals dark coppery in the upper half, pale below. Slipper dusky.

Annie Measures (bellatulum × Dayanum). – Dorsal yellowish, outlined white, covered with slender purple lines and dots. Large smooth petals, netted over with small crimson dots in a pattern. Slipper narrow, dull crimson above, white toe.

Frau Ida Brandt (Io grande × Youngianum). – The large dorsal, white at the edges, is suffused with green and purple; the long petals, green and purple, are depressed. Heavy spots of crimson-brown, furnished with stiff hairs, cover them. Handsomely reversed at the tip. Slipper greenish-coppery.

Adrastus (Leeanum × Boxallii). – Here the large white dorsal with green base is heavily blotched with red-brown in the centre, lightly at the sides. The closely drooping petals, yellowish green, have the upper half splashed and mottled with a lively brown almost obscuring the ground-colour, which reappears in the lower half. Lip green at toe, coppery above.

Athos (parentage unknown) has an odd colouring – ochreous-green sepals, outlined with white and profusely dotted with brown; petals bright ochre, the upper length scored with lines of raw sienna. The lip similar.

Arthurianum pulchellum (Fairieanum × insigne Chantinii). – The green dorsal is thickly dotted all over with brown; the tip falls over, showing its white underside. Petals depressed, greenish, charmingly frilled, clouded and lined with copper-brown above, spotted with copper below. Slipper greenish, handsomely veined and marbled in a soft coppery tone.

Astraea (laevigatum × Spicerianum). – Dorsal white, with a pale green base, whence a heavy radius, maroon in colour, mounts to the tip; petals narrow, loosely hanging, greenish at base, crimson-purple through most of their length, marked with red lines. Slipper greenish, stained with purple.

Aurantiacum (venustum × insigne aureum). – Ochreous-green dorsal, its square top broadly crowned with white, spotted below with brownish-red; petals darker, similarly spotted. The slipper harmonises.

Cleopatra (Hookerae × aenanthum superbum). – A striking flower – deep glossy crimson, ribbed with a darker hue. On the upper length of the petals are heavy warts; the lower has a greenish tawny stain at base, like the slipper.

Lily Measures (Dayanum × niveum). – The dorsal is white, daintily flushed, with green base. Lines of red dots ascend from it, growing smaller and fainter as they rise. Such lines form a pleasing network on the petals, which have a yellowish smear at the base. The slipper corresponds.

Lawrebel (Lawrenceanum × bellatulum). – A grand and gorgeous hybrid. The green patch at the base of the dorsal is promptly swallowed up by a crimson cloud, which again fades into a delicious mottling of crimson on a white ground. The petals are vivid green above, paler below, both changing to crimson at the tips. Slipper yellowish at the edge and the toe, crimson between.

Lawrebel (Woodlands variety) shows the difference of colour so often found among seedlings of the same parentage and the same ‘batch.’ Here the crimson is by no means so bright, in fact purplish, but it covers nearly the whole surface of the dorsal, and what remains is not white but green. On the petals also, which are broader, green occupies nearly all the space, though less vivid, and the crimson of the tips almost disappears. They are heavily spotted with maroon. Slipper dusky purple, netted over with maroon.

La France (nitens × niveum). – White and very graceful. The only trace of colour appears in broad pink spots at the base of the dorsal, and smaller spots, more profuse, at the base of the petals. On the slipper they are smaller still, set along the edge.

Lawrenceanum-Hyeanum has a broad white dorsal, clouded with green at the base, and marked with handsome green lines. The narrow petals stand out firmly, vivid green, with lines of a deeper shade. The slipper also is green but pale. Another example is very much larger.

Lawrenceanum Sir Trevor.– This is no hybrid, but a wonderful variety of the species. The dorsal strangely broad and depressed – squat in fact. White in colour, with superb green lines mounting from the green cloud below, it sits tight over the rectangular petals of dark but vivid green, marked with deeper lines. The slipper is yellowish-green.

Leucochilum giganteum (assumed to be a hybrid of Godefroyae × bellatulum). – A compact flower, of which the three parts seem equal in size. White, with a faint ochreous tinge; covered throughout, saving the margin, with crimson spots, which form almost a blotch in the midst of the dorsal. Slipper small and white.

Leysenianum (barbatum Crossii × bellatulum). – The dorsal is very handsome and striking, bright crimson at top, fading to a dusky base, lined with crimson. The clinging petals, tawny green in the upper length, are washed with crimson in the lower; all profusely spotted with maroon. Slipper dull crimson.

Mrs. Fred Hardy (superbiens × bellatulum). – A very dainty hybrid. The dorsal, white with a greenish centre, is covered with interlacing crimson lines dotted with maroon, saving the clear margin. The petals almost form a semi-circle, greenish with a white edge, netted over with pale crimson and dotted with maroon in lines. The slipper greenish, with a pretty pink network round the upper part.

Holidayanum (concolor × almum). – Excepting a narrow white margin the dorsal is bright crimson, darkening towards the greenish base; petals greenish, with edges and dotted lines of crimson. Slipper dull crimson, with yellowish toe.

Hirsuto-Sallierii.– The upper half of the dorsal is white, the lower clear yellow-green, the whole covered with antlered lines of grass-green; petals yellow-green, finely frilled, tipped with palest purple. Pale purple and greenish also is the slipper.

Mrs. Herbert Measures (Lathamianum × Leeanum giganteum). – The great dorsal, yellow tinged with purple, has the shape of a flattened peg-top. A broad splash of maroon bisects it. The cinnamon-coloured petals are flushed with red, and lined with the same tint; the midrib is maroon. Slipper abnormally wide, purplish.

Javanicum.– A species, named from its habitat. Small and solidly green save the white crest of the dorsal, and the pale purple tips of the narrow petals. Such strong and decided colouring makes it useful to the hybridiser.

Measuresianum (villosum × venustum). – The small triangular dorsal, white, is evenly striped with green; petals yellow-green, with a grass-green base and emerald lines from end to end. The slipper shows a charming network of vivid green on a tawny yellow ground.

Marchioness of Salisbury (bellatulum × barbatum superbum, Sander’s variety). – Dorsal hollow, broadly crimson all round the margin, dusky white inside, striped with crimson and speckled with maroon. Petals closely depressed, white, with a shade of green above, of crimson below, dotted with maroon. Slipper tawny crimson, with clouding of the same.

Marshallianum (venustum-pardinum × concolor). – Unique in effect. Dorsal and petals ochreous white, with a faint crimson flush; all densely covered with minute crimson dots. Slipper of a yellow almost bright.

Brysa (Boissierianum × Sedeni candidulum). – A handsome plant, with long pale leaves. Dorsal greenish, corkscrew petals similar, tinged with pink. Slipper pale pink, all the inside prettily dotted with brown.

Muriel Hollington (niveum × insigne). – A broad flower but compact. The globular white dorsal has a pink cloud at the base and dots of crimson. The petals, similar, have crimson lines. Slipper prettily mottled with pink.

Lavinia (concolor × barbatum). – White of ground-colour all through, with a faintest flush of rose-pink. The whole of the dorsal marked with maroon dots upon regular lines of crimson. The broad drooping petals are spotted irregularly with the same tint. The narrow white slipper has a close array of crimson dots round the edge.

Cydonia (concolor × Curtisii). – Dorsal flesh-colour at the edges; in the middle a broad green stain which fades towards the apex. Midrib brown-crimson, with a paler network of the same over all. Petals crimson above, then greenish, pink or light crimson below, with faint lines and sharp little dots of crimson-brown. Slipper brownish and green.

Symonsianum (volonteanum × Rothschildianum). – Impressive for size and width, but not brilliant nor attractive in colour. Dorsal greenish, with pink-flushed edges, marked by strong lines of crimson-brown. Petals greenish, tipped with pale crimson, strongly dotted along the edges with the bristling tufts of Rothschildianum. Slipper nondescript – greenish and purplish.

J. Coles (Godefrovae-leucochilum majesticum × Dayanum superbum). – A charming flower. The dorsal is purplish crimson, with a pretty tinge of green in the midst and narrow white edges; the whole lined and netted over with crimson-purple. Petals the same, very dark at base, paling to a greenish centre; all closely spotted with the dark crimson tone. Slipper maroon, highly polished.

Princess May (callosum × Sanderianum). – A stately bloom, of impressive colouring. The tall bulbous dorsal is white at the crest, crimson-lake below, pale green at base; the whole striped with maroon and with crimson dots. Petals long, drooping far below the greenish slipper, green in the midst, with crimson edges and profuse dottings of crimson.

Pylaeus (Cardinale × Sedeni). – Pink and pretty. The pointed dorsal is pale pink above, greenish in the midst. The sharp pink petals have edges of carmine, and carmine tips. The pouch-like slipper is crimson; its lining ivory, marbled with pink.

Phoebe (laevigatum × bellatulum). – Rosy-white throughout. The dorsal bears a cloud of crimson-lake, sharply defined, darkening to maroon at the base, whence proceed heavy branching lines of crimson and maroon. The petals, crimson-stained above, heavily dotted all over with maroon, have white margins. Slipper bright crimson at the top, whitish below.

Paris (bellatulum × Stonei). – A grand beauty. The broad globular dorsal has a greenish patch in the midst, surrounded by purple, netted all over with maroon lines. The edges are pure white, as distinct as if drawn with the brush. Petals depressed, curiously blunted at the tips, verdigris-green at base, fading and changing to dusky crimson, with heavy spots of deepest maroon. Slipper purple, netted over with carmine; yellowish at the toe.

Rowena (Chamberlainianum × bellatulum). – Dorsal greenish-yellow above, darkest maroon below; branching maroon lines circle upwards. Petals greenish towards the tips, clouded at base, edged, scored, and dotted all over with maroon-crimson. The shield of the column intensely dark maroon and shining. Slipper striped with a pleasant pale crimson, and closely speckled over with tiny points of a darker shade.

Mrs. W. A. Roebling (caudatum × leucorrhodum). – The colouring is very delicate. Dorsal long, with a twisted crest; all stainless grass-green. Petals, which make one complete revolution or twist, softly greenish in the middle, edged with tender pale crimson, which also appears on the reverse; the lower base shows a brilliant decoration of tiny crimson bars round the column. The pouched slipper, bright pink, has a yellow lining, freckled with greenish dots.

Reticulatum.– A species, known also as Boissierianum, as curious as charming. The dorsal, of extraordinary length and the same narrow width throughout, curls over at the crest – bright pea-green, with slender lines a shade darker. The petals have the same slender green lines; they are very thin, closely and evenly twisted in six complete spirals. The shield of the column intensely dark green. Slipper green, its lining snow-white, with purple dots.

Charles Richmond (bellatulum × barbatum superbum). – The broad purplish dorsal has a whitish outline and a greenish tinge in the centre; its midrib is very strong purple, as are the lines which intersect it. Petals purple, darker at the base, dotted all over with maroon. Slipper dark purplish-crimson. In colour, shape, and size alike this hybrid is most impressive.

Schofieldianum (bellatulum × hirsutissimum). – Very distinct. On a yellowish-white ground the dorsal has a pale greenish centre, surrounded by purple, deepening at the base; all scored with branching lines of purple in dots. The petals are broad and strong, yellowish-white, tinged with purple, closely covered with maroon-purple dots. Slipper purplish-crimson, greenish at the toe.

Southgatense (callosum × bellatulum). – The dorsal has a rosy-white ground, very heavily clouded with dark crimson below, and almost hidden by strong lines of crimson and maroon. The petals have a touch of bright green at the base, edges of a lively dark crimson, and strong dots of maroon. Slipper crimson, dusky yellow at the toe.