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Schomburgkia (Named after Sir R Schomburgk)

(named after Sir R.Schomburgk, 1804-1865, a traveller in Guiana, and other parts of South America). ORD. Orchideae. About a dozen species have been referred to this genus; they are stove, epiphytal, pseudo-bulbous or caulescent Orchids, natives of tropical America. Flowers showy, pedicellate; sepals and petals free, spreading, undulated; lip erect, shortly connate with the base of the straight or incurved column, the middle lobe rounded or broadly two-lobed and flat, or narrower and undulated, the side lobes loosely in folding the column; pollen masses eight; bracts persistent; raceme borne on an elongated peduncle. Leaves ovate, oblong, or elongated, thickly coriaceous or rigidly fleshy. The most desirable species are described below. "They succeed in the Cattleya house on blocks, or in baskets suspended from the roof, in moss, or moss and peat mixed together; or they may be grown in pots equally well, if that system is preferred. A liberal supply of water is necessary during the growing season; but after they have completed their growth, water should be withheld until they begin to show flower. Propagation is effected by parting the stems" (B. S. Williams).

S. crispa (curled). fl., sepals and petals brown, oblong, having a yellow, undulated margin; lip white, ovate-oblong, obtuse, obscurely three-lobed; raceme broad, crowded; peduncle arising from the base of the upper leaf, 3ft. to 4ft. long. Winter. l. two or three at the tip of the stem, oblong-lanceolate. Stems fusiform, 1ft. high. Demerara, 1844. This species does best in a pot or basket; the flowers are sometimes wholly of a dull brick-red. (B.R. 1844, 23; L. S. O. 10.) S. grandiflora (large-flowered). A synonym of S. tibicinis grandiflora. S. Lyonsi (Lyons'). fl. on long pedicels; sepals and petals white, spotted and transversely barred with purple, ovate, obtuse, crispy; lip white, yellow-edged, scarcely spotted, acute; raceme broad, many-flowered; scape 3ft. to 4ft. long. August. l. like those of S. crispa. Stems about 1ft. high. Jamaica, 1853. This species, which has been called "the prettiest of the genus," succeeds either in a basket or on a block. (B.M. 5172; F.d.S. 2130.) S. marginata (margined). fl., sepals and petals dull brick-red, oblong, spreading, remarkably crisped or undulated; lip nearly white, tinged with pink, yellow at base, oblong-ovate, less waved than the sepals; stalk 1ft. to 1 1/2ft. high, bearing a bread raceme or corymb. l. two or three to a pseudo-bulb, large, oblong-lanceolate, coriaceous. Pseudo-bulbs oblong, furrowed, stipitate, and sheathed with pale brown scales. Surinam, 1838. (B. M. 3729; L. S. O. 13.) S. tibicinis (cow-horn). Cow-horn Orchid. fl. 2in. to 3in. across, many, in a terminal panicle; sepals and petals pale mauve-purple, flushed with crimson, oblong, obtuse, wavy; lip white, rose-coloured on the large, erect side lobes; scape 5ft. or more long. May and June. l. two or three, oblong, spreading. Stems conical in outline, horn-shaped, annulate, furrowed, 1 1/2ft. long, hollow, of ample size. Honduras, 1834. A truly noble plant, succeeding best on a block, with plenty of heat and moisture. (W. O. A. 205.) SYN. Epidendrum tibicinis.

S.t. grandiflora (large-flowered).* fl. more handsomely coloured and larger than in the type; sepals and petals rather pale purple, deeper and redder inside, especially towards the ends; side lobes of the lip purplish towards the edges outside, orange streaked with purple within, the disk white, the front lobe white stained with yellow, and bordered with purple. 1844. SYN. S. grandiflora (B. M. 4476; B. R. 1845, 30; F. d. S. 49). S. undulata (waved).* fl. densely racemose; sepals and petals rich brownish-purple, rounded and crisped, longer than the lip; lip clear violet-purple, cucullate, the middle lobe oval, acute or obtuse, the lateral ones rounded; bracts very long, spathe-like. January. Pseudo-bulbs fusiform. La Guayra. New Grenada, 1843. (W. S. O. ser.ii.21; B. R. xxxi.53, under name of Bletia undulata.)