Cattleya mendelii Backh.
| publié dans | Floral Magazine: : Comprising Figures and Descriptions of Popular Garden Flowers n.s. 32. 1872. |
| homonymes | Cattleya mendelii O'Brien The Gardner's Chronicle, ser. 2 20: 404. 1883. Cattleya mendelii var. morganae (Warner & B.S. Williams) Braem |
Texte d'archives
| "The magnificent Orchid from which our plate was drawn
we found in flower last June in Baron Schroeder's gardens at the
Dell, Egham, where there is one of the choicest collections in the
neighbourhood of London. It need scarcely be said that C. M. supebissima
far surpassses all the other varieties of Mendell's Cattleya both as
regards the large size of the blossoms and their beautiful, yet delicate
colour. The unusually large concave lip, exquisitely crisped and crimpled
at the margins where it is a lovely rich amethyst, and the delicate blush
tint of the broad sepals render the flowers extremely beautiful, and being
borne three and sometimes four on a stalk, the effect is unusually
striking. All the varieties of C. Mendelli, one of the most variable of
all the Cattleyas, are very beautiful and command high prices, but when we
come to look for such exceptionnally fine forms as this we find them very
scarce indeed, and existing only in a few of the richest collections. Mr.
Anderson, the well known Orchid-grower at Meadowbank, near Glasgow, sends
us the following interesting particulars respecting C. M. superbissima,
which it will be seen he now calls pulcherrima : -
"There is no more popular Cattleya in cultivation than Mendelli, originally introduced from Columbia, in South America. It was generally supposed to belong to the Trianae and Warscewiczi section, but on expanding its flowers it proved, is not specially distinct, at least sufficiently so to be named in honour of Mr. Sam. Mendell, a famous collector, or rather owner, of Orchids at Manchester. Like all species that come to us in thousands, this showed many varieties, and that which is figured is the most beautiful of all, hence its name - C. Mendelli superbissima or pulcherrima. It has so far eclipsed all its compeers that the Royal Horticultural Society awarded it, when exhibited, a first class certificate. Although I sent one of the plants to Messrs. Veitch under the name of C. Mendelli superbissima, I afterwards decided to call it pulcherrima. The great beauty of the flower is in the purity of its sepals and petals, their great breadth and substance, and the particularly large and fine labellum, which is about as near perfect in outline as Cattleya Mossiae can be, and of a fine, striking, deep-shaded Peach blossom hue. It has, moreover, the quality of being a free-grower, strong, bearing pseudo-bulbs much larger than most of its fellows, and adorned with leaves of corresponding size, which when in vigorous health are rich and glossy. No one who sees it can readily forget it. Some tme ago I saw a small piece of it in flower at Woolton Wood, and it shone out above all its compeers." CULTURE. - In Baron Schroeder's garden this Cattleya succeeds well under the same treatment as that given to the majority of Cattleyas, viz., an intermediate temperature, a little warmer during the period of growth then when the plants are at rest. When in flower the atmosphere is kept pleasantly cool and dry. Mr. Ballantine, the baron's gardener, grows most of his Cattleyas and Laelias and pots - at least such as are not too large ; if so, they are grown in square baskets, not suspended, but placed on the stages on supports, so as to bring the plants as near the light as practicable. The Cattleya house at the Dell contains some wonderfully fine examples of both Catleyas and Laelias, representing all the finest and rarest kinds in cultivation." "The Garden Flora - Plate CCCIV .- Cattleya mendelli superbissima" dans The Garden, 1er octobre 1881*. *copie obtenue du Natural History Museum, Londres, grâce à la collaboration de Peter Fowler, Alton, Royaume-Uni. |
Bibliographie sur l'espèce indiquant sa présence en Colombie
| Orchids and Ecology in Colombia, To the
Rescue of Paradise, page 74, 120, 148, 158 et
[p. 230]. The Manual of Cultivated Orchid Species, p. 83. Die Orchideenfloren der südamerikanischen Kordillerenstaaten - II - Colombia, p. 255. 7.a Conferencia mundial de orquideologia, programa commemorativo, pp. 25, 28, 109. Orchid genera illustrated, p. 60. Home Orchid Growing, pp. 57, 84. You Can Grow Cattleya Orchids, pp. 51, 53. Orquídeas ornementales de Colombia, p. 141. Orchid Stamp Collecting, p. 16. Encyclopaedia of Cultivated Orchids, p. 99. A History of the Orchid, pp. 25, 269. My Orchid Gardens, p. 26. The Orchid Review, May 1984, pp. 143-144, 146, 148. http://www.humboldt.org.co/conservacion/Listas_Preliminares.htm The Cattleyas and Their Relatives, volume 1, The Cattleyas, p.94. Orquídeas de Colombia, p. 111. Cattleya alliance, a cultural guide, p. 28. Manual of Orchids, p. 60. Orquídeas nativas de Colombia, volumen 1, pp. 15, 67. http://www.rbgkew.org.uk/data/monocots/orch_all.pdf An atlas of orchid pollination, America, Africa, Asia and Australia, p. 119. The Garden, 1er octobre 1881. |
|
|
|
|
source : Williams, Orchid Album, i., t.3
|
|
| source : Sander, Reichenbachia, volume 1, planche 15. |
|
 |
|
Cattleya mendelii var. grandiflora |
Cattleya mendelii var. jamesiana |
Source: Robert Warner and Thomas Moore, Orchid Album, London, 1884. Illustrateur: John Nugent Fitch |
|
|
image digitalisée le 11 juillet 2004 |
|
Pour retourner
au point de départ