Miltonia
(named after Viscount Milton, afterwards Earl Fitzwilliam). ORD. Orchideae. A genus comprising about a score species of very beautiful; epiphytal orchids, with showy flowers. They are, with the exception of one from Peru, all Brazilian, and are allied to Oncidium and Odontoglossum, but distinguished from both by the short column. Flowers large; sepals and petals alike; lip undivided, sessile, continuous with the column, marked with interrupted lines near its base; column short, with two auricles; scapes radical, few-flowered. Leaves narrow, flat. The species are dwarf in habit, somewhat rapid growers, and profuse blossomers. As a general rule, amateurs are rarely successful in getting foliage beyond a sickly yellow colour--a drawback which precludes the more extensive culture of these plants. Miltonias can be grown with green leaves and yet produce an abundance of blossoms; but it is not in every orchid house that just the right accommodation can be supplied. The plants like exposure to the light; but, in order to prevent the leaves turning yellow by the action of the sun, a certain amount of shade is necessary. They require an intermediate temperature and an abundant supply of water, the result of which will be green foliage and plenty of flowers. Some species, such as M. spectabilis, do well in a pan suspended from the roof of the house. These plants should not at any season be allowed to suffer from drought; indeed, they must never be kept dry. The pans should be thoroughly drained, and the plants potted in a compost of half-chopped sphagnum and good peat, to which may be added, with considerable advantage, some mediumsized lumps of charcoal. Miltonias should be kept in the Brazilian house when growing; and in winter, when at rest, they should be removed to the Cattleya house. Propagated by dividing the pseudo-bulbs, when they commence growth.
M. anceps (two-edged). fl. dark olive, about 2in. in diameter; lip streaked and dotted with reddish-purple, on a white ground. July. 1851. (B. M. 5572.)
M. Bluntii (Blunt's). fl., sepals and petals whitish-yellow, with some large purple-cinnamon blotches, chiefly in their centre; lip white, with a purple area at the base. 1879. An elegant species.
M. candida (white).* fl., sepals and petals yellowish, spotted with rich brown; lip white, tinged with rosy-pink, remarkably undulated or wavy; scape radical, five or six-flowered. Autumn. Pseudo-bulbs ovate, bearing upon the summit two narrow, light green leaves. h. 9in. 1830. A strong, erect-growing species, and one of the handsomest of the genus. Two forms occur in cultivation: in grandiflora, the flowers are larger and brighter, with the column purple and the lip white; in flavescens (B. M. 3793), both column and lip are yellowish.
M. Clowesii (Clowes').* fl. about 3in. across; sepals and petals thick, spreading, ground colour yellow, barred and blotched with rich brown; lip flat, cordate, of a rich purple at the base, and white at the tip; scape erect, many-flowered. Autumn. Pseudobulbs ovate, bearing long, sword-shaped, light green leaves. 1840. A very beautiful and remarkably distinct erect-growing plant. (B. M. 4109.) The variety major differs from the type only in its larger size and more showy blossoms.
M. C. Lamarcheana (Mons. Oscar Lamarche de Rossius'). A synonym of M. Lamarcheana.
M. cuneata (wedge-lipped).* fl. nearly 4in. in diameter; sepals and petals dark chocolate, tipped, and sometimes transversely barred, with tawny yellowish-green; lip pure white, tinged with pink near the base, differing in form from that of M. candida in being much more narrowed to the base, and scarcely curled at the margin; scape erect, four or five-flowered. Early summer. Pseudo-bulbs somewhat conical. h. 1ft. 1843. An erect-growing species, well deserving more general attention than it now receives; although not so showy as several others, it is, never-theless a handsome plant. (I. H. vii. 237.) M. Endresii (Senor Endres'). fl. creamy-white, each petal having a rose-coloured blotch at its base; sepals also with smaller blotches at the base; lip pandurate, dilated, four-lobed; scape slender, five-flowered. l. linear-ligulate, acute. Pseudobulbs oblong, one-leaved. A difficult plant to grow, and now rare in cultivation. As there already was a Miltonia Warscewiczii, it has been necessary to give another specific name. Senor Endres was the first to introduce the species in a living state to this country. (B. M. 6163, under name of Odontoglossum Warscewiczii.)
M. festiva (gay). fl., sepals and petals ochre-coloured, narrow; lip large, pointed in front, purplish-lilac, with radiating streaks of deep purple; peduncles two-flowered. 1868. A very showy species, resembling M. spectabilis in growth and general appearance.
M. flavescens (yellowish).* fl., sepals and petals yellow, linear lanceolate, acuminate; lip sessile, yellow, spotted with blood colour; bracts straw-colour, glumaceous, over 2in. long, scarcely shorter than the flowers. June. l., primordial ones short, linear-oblong; perfect ones linear-ensiform, obtuse, apiculate, pale green. Rhizomes creeping. 1830. (B. R. 1627, under name of Cyrtochilum flavescens.)
M. Lamarcheana (Mons. Oscar Lamarche de Rossius').* fl., sepals and petals yellow, with broad cinnamon bars; lip cordate at base, abruptly broader from the middle; base with an obscure globular tumour; front part with seven keels, whitish-ochre, with a broad, pandurate blotch before the keels. 1881. This species is closely allied to M. candida. (B. H. 1876, 13, under name of M. Clowesii Lamarcheana.)
M. Phalaenopsis (Phalaenopsis).* fl., sepals and petals pure white, about 2in. across; lip white, with a large portion of the centre rich purplish-crimson, and a yellow base; spike slender, from one to three-flowered, shorter than the leaves. May. l. slender, grass-like, pale green or glaucous. Pseudo-bulbs ovoid, of a very pale whitish-green. 1850. A very distinct and handsome species, seldom exceeding 8in. in height. (B. O. 3, under name of Odontoglossum Phaloenopsis.) M. P. luxurians (luxuriant). fl., lip having two large crimson blotches on the front lobe, some crimson streaks on the side lobes, and the callus broadly bordered with yellow. 1881. A free-growing, floriferous variety. (I. H. 417.)
M. P. solare (solar). fl., anterior part of lip very broad, basilar portion broad, nearly circular, and of a yellow colour, with stripes, all with outward points of purple. 1879. A curious and interesting variety.
M. Regnelli (Regnell's).* fl., sepals and petals soft rosy-white, bordered with white, broad, spreading; lip flat, lilac-rose; scape erect, as long as the leaves, many-flowered. Autumn. Pseudo-bulbs somewhat conical, bearing narrow pale green leaves upon their summit. h. 1ft. 1864. A very desirable erect-growing species. (B. M. 5436.) There is a handsome variety, purpurea, with lip of a rich rosy-purple hue.
M. Roezli (Roezl's). fl., sepals pearly-white; petals stained with a rich vinous-purple at the base; lip large, flat, bilobed in front, white stained with yellow at the base, and ornamented more or less with streaks of chocolate-brown; racemes three or four-flowered. Autumn. l. narrowly-lanceolate. Pseudo-bulbs 2 1/2in. high. 1873. In general habit and appearance there is little difference between this species and M. vexillaria, but the sepals and petals are longer than in the latter. (B. M. 6085: B. O. 30, under name of Odontoglossum Roezlii.)
M. R. album (white). fl. large; lip broad, obcordate, pure white, with a small yellow crest. 1875.
M. Russellianum (Duke of Bedford's). fl., sepals and petals dark purple, margined with green, ovate-oblong; lip lilac, with purple disk, margined with white; raceme few-flowered, radical. l. broad, ligulate-lanceolate, green, spreading. Pseudo-bulbs ovate, costate, two-leaved. 1835. (B. R. 1830, under name of Oncidium Russellianum.) M. spectabilis (showy).* fl., very showy, from 3in. to 4in. across; sepals and petals somewhat short, pure white, often tinged with rose at the base; lip very large, of a rosy-violet, margined with white; scape one-flowered. Autumn. Pseudo-bulbs produced upon a creeping stem, considerably compressed, and bearing a pair of thin, strap-shaped leaves upon their summit. h. 6in. to 8in. 1835. This species is by far the best known of the genus, and, when well grown, is a most beautiful plant. (B. M. 4204.) There are several varieties of more or less excellence.
M. s. bicolor (two-coloured). fl. white; lip white, with a blotch of violet in the upper part. August. 1839. A handsome variety, but with a stronger habit and larger flowers than the type.
M. s. Moreliana (Morel's).* fl., sepals and petals deep purple; lip also of a rich deep purple, streaked and shaded with rose. In habit of growth this closely resembles the type; indeed, it can only be distinguished by the flowers, which are even larger than those of M. spectabilis. (B. M. 4425.)
M. s. rosea (rose-coloured). fl., lip rose. SYN. M. Warneri.
M. s. virginalis (virgin). fl. pure white, with a spot of rose.
M. vexillaria (standard).* fl. variable in size, in three or four flowered racemes; perianth quite flat; sepals sub-equal, obovate-oblong or obovate-cuneate, sub-acute or truncate, flat, rather recurved, very pale rose; petals larger or smaller than the sepals, deep rose, with a broad white margin; lip white, suffused with deep rose on the disk of each half, and pale yellow, streaked with red, on the claw; column very short. l. narrowly-elliptic-lanceolate, from a narrower sheathing base, acute, keeled, deep green above, paler beneath. Pseudo-bulbs narrow-oblong, compressed. 1872. (B. M. 6037, under name of Odontoglossum vexillarium.)
M. Warneri (Warner's). A synonym of M. spectabilis rosea. M. Warscewiczii (Warscewicz's).* fl., sepals and petals bright cinnamon, tipped with yellow, undulate at the margins; lip flat, of a soft violet-purple, white in front, tinged or blotched occasionally with brownish-yellow; scape, in vigorous specimens erect and branched (differing, in this respect, from most other members of the genus), many-flowered. Under favourable conditions, it will blossom twice during the year. Pseudo-bulbs long, much flattened or compressed, dark green, bearing two leaves. Peru, 1869. A beautiful, erect-growing species, requiring less heat than the Brazilian species, and subject, apparently, to considerable variation in the colour of its flowers in different specimens. It was first sold under the name of Oncidium Weltoni, and has also been known in gardens as Oncidium fuscatum and Odontoglossum Weltoni. (B. M. 5843.)