Sobralia
(named in honour of Don F. M. Sobral, a Spanish botanist). ORD. Orchideae. About thirty species are referred to this genus; they are tall, leafy, not tuberous, free-growing, mostly stove, terrestrial Orchids, natives of the Andes of tropical America, from Peru to Mexico. Flowers large and showy, few in a terminal, axillary raceme, sometimes reduced to one flower; sepals unequal, erect, connate at base; petals similar or broader; lip erect from the base of the column, around which its lateral lobes are folded, the limb spreading, concave, undulated or fimbriate, undivided or two-lobed; column elongated, slightly incurved, semi-terete; bracts appressed. Leaves scattered, coriaceous, plicate-veined, sessile in the sheaths. The best-known species are here described. "The East Indian or Mexican house will either of them suit these plants, which thrive best in pots of large size, potted in rough, fibrous peat . . . . which should overlie about 3in. of drainage. An abundant supply of water at the roots in the growing season is essential to their well-being, but afterwards much less will suffice. The stems grow up in thick tufts; and when the plants get too large, they should be turned out of the pot, and divided into several pieces, each of which will soon grow and make a flowering plant. The genus is far too much neglected by orchid-growers" (B. S. Williams).
S. cattleya (Cattleya-like).* fl. resembling those of a Cattleya; sepals and petals purplish-brown; lip purplish, with three yellow, crested keels, forming a sharp angle by its lateral lobes overlapping the column; inflorescences several, lateral. l. oblong, acuminate, plaited shining. Stem stout. Columbia, 1877. A plant of great beauty.
S. chlorantha (yellow-flowered). fl. yellow, whole-coloured, fully 4in. long, sessile; lip obovate, the disk striated, the margins undulated, a pair of deep lamellae extending from the base to the apex. June. l. very fleshy, hardly plicate, loosely striated, oblong; upper ones changed to ovate, cucullate bracts. h. 1ft. Brazil, 1852. (B. M. 4682; F. d. S. 840.)
S. decora (comely). "This differs from S. sessilis, not only in being perfectly free from the black hairiness characterising that species, but also in being a smaller plant, with a truly cuneate lip, in having whitish flowers with a rose-coloured lip, and the petals overlaying the sepals, so that the back of the former answers to the face of the latter" (Lindley). Guatemala, 1836. (B. M. 4570 and L. J. F. 104, under name of S. sessilis.)
S. dichotoma (dichotomous).* fl. white outside, violet within, sometimes whitish-rose with a rose and purple lip, or the whole deep red, fleshy; lip cucullate, three-lobed, the lateral segments entire, the middle one emarginate, crisped, crested-lacerate at apex; racemes lateral, drooping, dichotomous, flexuous, many-flowered. March. l. hard, plicate, acuminate, narrowed at base. Stems 6ft. to 20ft. high, resembling bamboos. Peru. A grand species.
S. fragrans (fragrant). fl. in pairs, 1 1/2in. long, deliciously scented; sepals externally dirty purplish-green, keeled; petals pale yellow, thin, flat, lanceolate; lips of a brighter yellow, the middle lobe deeply fringed and furnished with nine lacerated crests. July. l. very smooth, rather fleshy, perfectly naked, with a short, keeled sheath. Stem two-edged, scarcely 1ft. high. New Grenada, 1854. (B. M. 4882.)
S. leucoxantha (whitish-yellow). fl., sepals white, recurved, oblong-ligulate; petals white, rather shorter and broader; lip white outside, deep golden-yellow, flushed with orange in the throat and disk, passing off to white at the edge, oblong-flabellate, convolute at base, the expanded front portion bilobed and crenulate; bracts of the spathe scarious, spotted with brown. August. l. plicate, cuneate-oblong, long-acuminate, the sheaths warted. Stems 1ft. or more high. Costa Rica.
S. Liliastrum (Star-Lily). fl. white, veined with yellow, large, pendulous; racemes terminal, distichous, many-flowered, with spathaceous bracts. July and August. l. lanceolate, very acute, striated, sheathing at base. Stems 8ft. to 10ft. high. British Guiana, Brazil, 1840. (L. S. O. 29.) SYN. Epidendrum Liliastrum.
S. L. rosea (rose-coloured). fl., petals and lip of a rich rose-colour, the latter veined with white.
S. macrantha (large-flowered).* fl. beautiful rich purple and crimson, aromatic, 6in. across; sepals oblong; petals broader, crisped in the upper part; lip folded round the column at base, very broad and bilobed at the apex, wavy at the edges, having a pale yellowish spot in the centre; racemes short. Summer. l. ovate, acuminate, plicate. Stems 6ft. to 8ft. high. Mexico and Guatemala, 1842. The finest species of the genus. (B. M. 4446; F. d. S. 669; P. M. B. xiv. 241.) Greenhouse.
S. m. albida (whitish). fl. of a very pale rose-colour. (G. C. 1871, p. 906.)
S. m. nana (dwarf). fl. smaller than in the type; lip dark violet, yellow at the base. A dwarf variety.
S. m. purpurea (purple). fl. of a rich purple.
S. m. splendens (splendid). fl. darker than those of the type, but not so large. June to August. 1846. A charming variety. "WOOLLEY'S" variety is a very dwarf from of this, producing splendid flowers in June and July.
S. rosea (rose-coloured).* fl. very large; sepals and petals dark mauve; lip crimson, with a white centre, very open; raceme short, the rachis flexuous; bracts boat-shaped, large. l. ovate, acuminate. Stems stout; 4ft. to 6ft. high. Peru and New Grenada. A fine species; the spikes have four flowers, all opening at once. SYN. S. Ruckeri (R. X. O. i. 43; W. S. O. iii. 19).
S. Ruckeri (Rucker's). A synonym of S. rosea.
S. sessilis (sessile-flowered). fl. deep rose-colour, the lower half of the lip tinged with yellow, solitary, sessile; lip rhomboid-oblong, bilamellate at base; bracts none or only a few, leafy at apex. December. l. beneath (as well as the stems) covered with dark pubescence. British Guiana, 1840. (B. R. 841, 17.)
S. suaveolens (sweet-smelling). fl. yellowish-white, richly perfumed; lip white, brown on the disk of the front lobe, the keels yellow. Central America, 1878. This species is very similar in habit to S. decora.
S. violacea (violet). fl. pale violet, larger than those of S. decora; lip convolute, not unlike that of a Cattleya; bracts imbricated, somewhat leafy. July. l. hard, lanceolate, deeply plicate; sheaths slightly warted. New Grenada. Plant larger than S. decora. There is a variety having white flowers, with a yellow disk to the lip.
S. xantholeuca (yellowish-white). fl. large and handsome, deflexed; sepals and petals pale yellow, the former oblong-lanceolate, the latter broader and wavy at the edges; lip longer, deeper yellow, much frilled, emarginate. l. lanceolate, acuminate, plaited, the sheaths dotted with brown. Native country unknown. (Gn. xxii. 366; W. O. A. vi. 250.)