Burlingtonia candida, _Lindley_, _Botanical Register_, t. 1927; _Id._ _Paxton’s Flower Garden_, i. 158; _Rand’s Orchids_, 179; _Floral Magazine_, t. 548.
Rodriquezia candida, _Bateman in litteris_; _Reichenbach fil._, in _Walpers’ Annales Botanices Systematicæ_, vi., 695.
The genus _Burlingtonia_ was dedicated to the amiable and accomplished Countess of Burlington, and contains a few small-growing but very beautiful species, which come mostly from Brazil. The plant now under notice, which was the earliest introduction, and the type of the genus, was imported from Demerara, in British Guiana, so long since as 1834, by James Bateman, Esq., now a veteran in the study and cultivation of Orchids. It is consequently well-known to the growers and collectors of this class of plants.
As a subject for growing in a basket suspended from the roof, this species has few, if any, equals. When grown in this way, the pendent spikes of white flowers hanging over the sides of the basket produce a charming and distinct appearance.
The plant is compact-growing, and, like all the species of _Burlingtonia_, is evergreen. The pendent flower-spikes are produced from the sides of the pseudobulbs, and each bear from four to six flowers, which are white, marked with yellow in the throat, and have a slight but pleasant odour of violets.
_Burlingtonia candida_ should be grown in the Cattleya-house, in a basket or pan, suspended from the roof. Sphagnum moss, with a good drainage composed of crocks, is the best material for its roots, and the bulbs should be well elevated above the rim of the pan or basket. This plant delights in a plentiful supply of water at the roots—in fact, it should never be allowed to get dry, as it requires but little rest. It is propagated by division of the pseudobulbs.
Few insects attack this plant. The scale is the most frequent intruder, and this is easily removed by the use of a sponge and clean water.