Cypripedium

“ Cypripedium Fairrieanum, Lindley, Gardeners’ Chronicle, 1857, 740; Hooker, Botanical Magazine, t. 5024; Van Houtte, Flore des Serres, t. 1244; Bateman, Second Century of Orchidaceous plants, t. 140; Reichenbach fil., Xenia Orchidacea, t. 133; Williams, Orchid Grower’s Manual, 5 ed. 153.
The Cypripediums form a very large genus of Orchids, which is also one of the most useful for decorating our Orchid-houses or plant stoves, as well as for exhibition purposes. Nearly all the species continue long in flower and are of easy cultivation. ”

“ In the second or inner whorl of the perianth the lip is merely a little oblique on one side, but the lateral petals are distorted, displaced, and adherent one to the other and to the column, while the posterior shield-like rudimentary anther is completely wanting.
Fig. 44.—Malformed flower of Cypripedium.
Fig. 45.—Diagram of malformed Cypripedium. o, outer segments; i, inner segments of perianth; e, lip; s, stigma; a, anther.
Fig. 46—- Diagram showing ordinary arrangement in Cypripedium. o, outer, i, inner segments of perianth; e, lip, a, anther, a', abortive stamen; s, stigma. ”

“ The lip in all the cypripediums is more or less sac-like and inflated. In the present species, C. acaule, however, we see a unique variation, this portion of the flower being conspicuously bag-like, and cleft by a fissure down its entire anterior face. In Fig. 16 is shown a front view of the blossom, showing this fissure. The "column" (B) in the cypripedium is very distinctive, and from the front view is very non-committal. It is only as we see it in side section, or from beneath, that we fully comprehend the disposition of stigma and pollen. ”

“ Among a great number of Cypripedium insigne received at St. Albans, and "established," Mr. Sander noted one presently of which the flower-stalk was yellow instead of brown, as is usual. Sharp eyes are a valuable item of the orchid-grower's stock-in-trade, for the smallest peculiarity among such "sportive" objects should not be neglected. Carefully he put the yellow stalk aside—the only one among thousands, one might say myriads, since C. insigne is one of our oldest and commonest orchids, [Pg 109] and it never showed this phenomenon before. ”

“ After choosing parents thoughtfully, with a clear perception of the aim in view, one must "go it blind." Very often the precise effect desired appears in due time; very often something unlooked for turns up; but nearly always the result is beautiful, whether or no it serve the operator's purpose. Besides effect, however, there is an utility in hybridization which relates to culture. Thus, for example, the lovely Cypripedium Fairieanum is so difficult to grow that few dealers keep it in their stock; by crossing it with Cyp. barbatum, from Mount Ophir, a rough-and-ready cool species, we get Cyp. ”

“ This Cypripedium is not so free in its growth as many others, although we have seen it very fine in years gone by, and we are of opinion that if imported plants could only be obtained, cultivators would be able to succeed with it as well as with 45 any other. There is no doubt that on account of the plant being so rare, those who fortunately possess it are too anxious to increase it, and too frequently cut the plants into small pieces, which get into a bad condition and ultimately die. ”

“ Cypripedium possesses no rostellum; for all three stigmas are fully developed, though confluent. The single anther, which is present in all other Orchids, is here rudimentary, and is represented by a singular shield-like projecting body, deeply notched or hollowed out on its lower margin. There are two fertile anthers which belong to an inner whorl, represented in ordinary Orchids by various rudiments. ”

“ Veitch point out that although few genera of plants are scattered so widely over the earth as Cypripedium, the species have withdrawn to narrow areas, often isolated, and remote from their kindred. Some are rare to the degree that we may congratulate ourselves upon the chance which put a few specimens in safety under glass before it was too late, for they seem to have become extinct even in this generation. ”

“ Turfy loam carefully broken up and mixed in suitable proportions with peat and Sphagnum-moss, or Osmunda, or Polypodium fibre, is necessary for Cypripediums, the proportion of loam being greatest for the stronger-growing plants; certain Selenipediums and Cypripediums require quite one-half of that ingredient. Some good growers [Pg 24] use loam fibre with a sprinkling of leaves and broken crocks entirely for Cypripedium insigne and others of the green-leafed class, and also for Calanthes, Phaius, Zygopetalums, and other plants. ”

“ Yet I am planning to take a journey of several hundred miles this very summer on the off-chance of seeing one of these flowers. Nearly as rare is the strange ram’s-head lady’s-slipper (Cypripedium arietinum) , the rarest of all the cypripedia and belonging to the same family as the glorious moccasin flower and queen flower. The lip of the ram’s-head consists of a strange greenish pouch with purple streaks, shaped like the head of a ram. ”

“ This is one of the most distinct of the new hybrid Lady’s Slippers that have been recently introduced to the notice of Orchid-growers; it will also be appreciated as one of the most useful, being of a neat free-growing and abundant-blooming habit of growth. The Cypripediums are everybody’s plants, that is to say, any one who has a place adapted for their cultivation can manage them without difficulty. Many growers make them their especial care and study, procuring every species and variety that can be obtained, and thus forming a very interesting and diverse group. ”

“ The upper sepal is frequently the showiest feature in the flower; the lower sepals are joined and arranged behind the lip, whilst the petals extend on each side and vary much in form.
In gardens, the whole of the genus is known as Cypripedium, although the South American species (Selenipedium) , having a three-celled ovary, differ widely from the one-celled East Indian and Malayan species, and other sections have such marked and consistent botanical differences as to warrant the botanist in separating them under different sub-generic names. ”

“ Spicerianum which came upon the market, they found a number of capsules, and sowed them, obtaining several hundred fine plants. Pods are often imported on Cyp. insigne full of good seed.
In the circumstances enumerated we have the explanation of an extraordinary fact. Hybrids or natural species of Cypripediums artificially raised are stronger than their parents, and they produce finer flowers. The reason is that they get abundance of food in captivity, and all things are made comfortable for them ”

“ This new species is both distinct and rare. It is, moreover, very beautiful and one that every lover of Cypripediums will be looking after. There are some cultivators who do not care for this class of Orchids, and there are some others who grow all the species and varieties they can procure, making the collecting of them a hobby. We can fully understand the pleasurable feelings of these latter, as the plants are ornamental in foliage as well as in flower, thus always keeping up a good appearance; they are also very easy of cultivation, and most of them take but little room to grow in. ”

“ Of the genus Cypripedium, Great-Britain produces only one, America several species; of these the album here figured, (whose name is derived from the whiteness of its petals, and with which the nectary must not be confounded) is by far the most magnificent; indeed there are few flowers which to such singularity of structure add such elegance and beauty: it grows spontaneously in various parts of North-America, and chiefly in the woods; was introduced to the royal garden at Kew, by Mr. ”

“ The treasure had arrived amongst a quantity of Cyp. insigne. Therefore it must be a native of the Himalayan region—Assam, Darjeeling, or Sikkim, no doubt. There are plenty of persons along that frontier able and willing to hunt up a new plant. A good many of them probably received commissions to find Cypripedium Spicerianum.
At St. Albans they were more deliberate. It is not exactly usual for ladies residing at Wimbledon to receive consignments of orchids. When such an event happens, [Pg 214] one may conclude that they have relatives or intimate friends in the district where those orchids grow ”

“ We find this plant does well grown in pots with rough fibrous peat or fibrous loam mixed with some leaf soil, and good drainage. It requires a moderate supply of water during the growing and flowering season. In fact, these plants may be said to be always growing and blooming, so that they should always be kept moist at the roots, as they have no succulent pseudobulbs to support them. We grow this plant at the cool end of the East India house with other Cypripediums, but it will thrive well in any ordinary stove. It is propagated by dividing the plant when there are several growths ”

“ I. . By James Edward Smith, M.D. F.R.S. President of the Linnean Society Page 1 II. Observations on some extraneous Fossils of Switzerland. By Mr. Tingry, Foreign Member of the Linnean Society, Demonstrator of Chemistry and Natural History at Geneva, &c. p. 57 III. Observations on the Phalæna Bombyx Lubricipeda of Linnæus, and some other Moths allied to it. By Thomas Marsham, Esq. Secretary to the Linnean Society p. 67 IV. Descriptions of four Species of Cypripedium. By Richard Anthony Salisbury, Esq. F.R.S. Fellow of the Linnean Society p. ”

“ Some of the Cypripediums, for instance; there are no insects known that can possibly fertilise them, and some of them have never been found with seed."
"But how do they form new plants?"
"By runners and tubers, and that kind of outgrowth. That is easily explained. The puzzle is, what are the flowers for? ”

“ The genus to which I refer is a well-known fossil in some parts of the Coal-measure series, and has been named Cypris. The shells of cyprides are very minute, considerably less than the heads of small pins (Fig. 20-1) . They can be seen quite well, however, without the use of a magnifying power. In shape they resemble beans, and when seen scattered over a slab of shale, look much liker seeds than the relics of animal life. Yet, under this simple exterior, they concealed a somewhat complex organization. ”

“ On this southward-looking slope the cypresses attain a symmetry, a slenderness, a height, a thickness of texture and richness of colour unmatched in Stamboul. They grow in squares, many of them, or in magic circles. The stones under them are older than the others, and more like things of nature in the flowered grass. On certain happy afternoons, when the sun brings a fairy depth and softness of green out of the cypresses, when their shadows fall lance-like across bare or mossy aisles, and the note of a solitary bird echoes between them, it is hard not to imagine oneself in an enchanted wood. ”

“ I do not wonder that the ancients, even aside from their superstitions, selected the cypress as an emblem of death and mourning—for no one can behold that tree in its native solitude and state without thinking of all the friends he had lost, and would be likely to lose for the next hundred years.—Picture to yourself, gentle reader, the bed of a sluggish stream, enriched by the accumulations of vegetable mould for unknown ages, until the water forced itself through a deep, narrow channel, winding hither and thither ”

“ It attains to a great age and immense size. The trunk and branches of an old cypress are smooth and white as ivory, while its light, feathery foliage is of the most dazzling golden-green; and rising, as it often does, amid clumps of dark varnished evergreens,—bay and magnolia and myrtle,—it has a singular and beautiful effect. The long swaying draperies of the gray moss interpose everywhere their wavering outlines and pearl tints amid the brightness and bloom of the forest, giving to its deep recesses the mystery of grottoes hung with fanciful vegetable stalactites. ”

“ The most surprising thing about the bald cypress is the flaring base of the trunk, and the root system which seems too large for the tall but usually narrow top. Knees of cypress rising out of the water from the main roots, are distinguished from stumps by their smooth, conical tops. The base of a great tree often spreads into wide flying buttresses, each hollowed on the inside, but serving with the others to support the hollow-trunked tree. Many a giant of great age stands thus on stilts whose submerged ends are the gnarled roots of the tree. ”

“ The wood of the European cypress is also used for many purposes where strength and durability are required, for it really seems never to wear out. This tree is described as tapering and cone-like, with upright branches growing close to the trunk, and in its general appearance a little resembling a poplar. Its frond-like branches are closely covered with very small sharp-pointed leaves of a yellow-green color, smooth and shining, and they remain on the tree five or six years. The cypress is often seen in burying-grounds in Europe, and in Turkey it often stands at each end of a grave. ”

“ One is the bald cypress, our Southern cypress, Taxodium, inhabiting the swamps of the Atlantic coast from Maryland to Texas, thence extending—with, probably, a specific difference—into Mexico. It is well known as one of the largest trees of our Atlantic forest-district, and, although it never—except perhaps in Mexico, and in rare instances—attains the portliness of its Western relatives, yet it may equal them in longevity. The other relative is Glyptostrobus, a sort of modified Taxodium, being about as much like our bald cypress as one species of redwood is like the other. ”