Home › C › Calanthe (From kalos beautiful)

Calanthe (From kalos beautiful)

(from kalos, beautiful, and anthos, a flower). ORD. Orchideae. SEC. Vandae. A very handsome genus of stove terrestrial Orchids. They may be characterised as robust-growing plants, producing large, broad, many-ribbed, or plaited leaves, which are, with one or two exceptions, evergreen, and long spikes, bearing many flowers, distinguished by their calcarate lip, which is attached to the column, and by the eight thick, waxy pollen masses adhering to a separate gland. Calanthes should be special favourites with amateurs, as, in the first place, they produce an abundance of showy flowers, which last a long time in perfection; and, secondly, because they are so easily managed. In potting these plants, it will be necessary to depart from the usual style of potting Orchids, and, instead of elevating them above the rim of the pot upon a cone of peat and sphagnum, they must be kept below the rim, as in potting ordinary plants. In place of the usual soil and moss, these plants should have a mixture of loam, leaf mould, and peat, broken up rough, to which may be added some silver sand and dried cow manure. During the growing season, they require abundant supply of water, and in winter even this element must be administered freely to the evergreen kinds; whilst the deciduous ones, on the contrary, enjoy a thorough rest after blooming. Good drainage is essential to all. Little more need be said upon the cultivation of Calanthes during the summer months. When growing, they enjoy strong heat and plenty of moisture; but, when growth is complete, a cooler situation is most beneficial. They are subject to the attacks of various insects, which must be continually searched for, and, when found, destroyed; for, if neglected in this particular, the bold and handsome leaves will be much disfigured, and rendered far from ornamental. Propagated by suckers and divisions. About forty species are known, of which the following are a selection:

C. curculigoides (Curculigo-like). fl. beautiful orange-yellow, disposed in an erect spike. Summer and autumn. l. large, ever-green, plaited. h. 2ft. Malacca, 1844. (B. R. 33, 8.) C. Dominyi (Dominy's).* fl., sepals and petals lilac; lip deep purple. This fine hybrid is a cross between C. Masuca and C. veratrifolia. (B. M. 5042.) C. furcata (forked). fl. creamy white, very freely produced; spikes erect, 3ft. long. June to August. Luzon Isles, 1836. An excellent exhibition plant. C. Masuca (Masuca).* fl., sepals and petals deep violet colour, with an intense violet-purple lip; numerously produced on spikes 2ft. long. June to August. India, 1838. (B. M. 4541). The variety grandiflora differs from the type in its greater size both of spike and individual flower; the gigantic spikes are from 3ft. to 4ft. high, and continue blossoming for three months. C. Petri (Peter Veitch's).* fl. whitish-yellow. Said to be very like C. veratrifolia, but bearing leaves a little narrower, and a system of five curious sulcate yellowish calli on the base of the lip, without the single lamella and teeth which are proper to that species. Polynesia, 1880. C. pleiochroma (many-coloured). fl. whitish, purplish, ochre, orange. Japan, 1871.

C. Regnieri (Regnier's). fl., sepals and petals white; lip rosy-pink; middle lobe short, wedge-shaped, and emarginate. Pseudo-bulbs jointed. Cochin China. fausta is a fine variety, with the base of the lip and column a warm crimson. C. Sieboldii (Siebold's).* fl. yellow, large; spikes erect. l. broad, dark green, plaited. h. 1ft. Japan, 1837. an elegant evergreen dwarf-growing species. (R. H. 1855, 20.) C. Textori (Textor's). fl. cream-white, washed with violet on the petals and column, as well as on the base of lip, where the calli are brick-red, changing later on to ochre-colour, excepting the white-lilac base of sepals and petals and the column; lip very narrow. Japan, 1877.

C. Veitchii (Veitch's).* fl. rich bright rose, with a white throat; spikes often attaining a height of 3ft., and bearing an immense quantity of flowers. Winter. l. large, plaited, light green, deciduous. Pseudo-bulbs flask-shaped. This very beautiful hybrid is the result of a cross between C. vestita and C. rosea (Syn. Limatodes rosea). (B. M. 5375.) C. veratrifolia (Veratrum-leaved).* fl. pure white, except the green tips of the sepals and the golden papillae on the disk of the labellum; spikes 2ft. to 3ft. high, freely produced on well-grown plants. May to July. l. 2ft. or more long, dark green, broad, many-ribbed, with wavy margins. India, 1819. (B. M. 2615.) C. vestita (clothed).* fl., sepals and petals pure white, numerously produced in a many-flowered, nodding spike. l. deciduous. Pseudo-bulbs large, whitish, h. 2 1/2ft. Burmah. (B. M. 4671.) The varieties of this species are very numerous.

C. v. igneo-oculata (fire-eyed).* fl., base of the column purplish, over which is a dazzling fire-colour, the blotch in the base of the lip of the same colour. Borneo, 1876.

C. v. nivalis (snowy).* fl. pure white, entirely destitute of any colour on the lip. Java, 1868.

C. v. rubro-oculata (red-eyed).* fl. delicate white, with a blotch of rich crimson in the centre; upwards of 2in. across; spikes long, drooping, having a white downy covering, and rising from the base of the silvery-green pseudo-bulbs, when the latter are without leaves. October to February. C. v. Turneri (Turner's).* fl. pure white, with rose-coloured eye, larger, and produced on longer flower-spikes than the other kinds; form of flowers more compact. Java. this is considered by some authorities, to be a distinct species.