APOSTASIACE® OF THE MALAY PENINSULA. 23 
D). Kunstler’, Hook. f., the inner bract in the bud exudes a deep 
crimson, oily, viscid liquid in drops, which probably serves to 
protect the bud from the action of water. This, when the 
flower is open, remains in the now dry bract in the form of red 
spots. In D. criniferum, Lindl., the arrangement is much the 
same, but the plant is rather peculiar among Desmotrichums in 
throwing up tall, erect shoots, each internode of which is 
euwrapped in a sheathing leaf, narrowed at the base and 
broadly dilated above. These soon drop off, leaving the slender, 
erect stem bare. Meanwhile, the terminal internode enlarges 
and produces the leaf, and eventually the flowers. Then, from 
the node below the dilated terminal internode (but often also 
from other nodes) another lateral shoot is produced, which 
develops in the same manner. In this plant also there are 
several inflorescences in each axil, which develop singly, more 
rarely two together, at long intervals of time, and inflorescences 
are often also emitted from nodes which have never borne a 
fully developed leaf. The inflorescence which appears to 
terminate the stem is really emitted from tbe axil of the leaf, 
so that it is strictly axillary, though the arrested development 
of the stem above the leaf makes it appear as if it was 
terminated. Like many other orchids in the Malay Peninsula, 
Desmotrichums have no definite flowering season, but at 
intervals of a few months every individual of the same species 
flowers on the same day. 
But two species are described from the Malay Peninsula, 
although many more occur. This is due to the fugaciousness 
of the flowers, which last but a few hours in the morning, and 
so are seldom to be met with by collectors. They are also very 
thin textured and preserve badly. To describe these plants 
properly it is essential to cultivate them and examine the 
flowers during life. Another difficulty in working from dried 
material arises from the alteration in form of the pseudo-bulb 
uuder pressure. Very good characters are to be obtained from 
the form of the pseudo-bulb, but these have been often over- 
looked or misunderstood: thus, D. Macrmi, Lindl., D. loncho- 
phyllum, Hook. f., and D. Kunstleri, Hook. f., have all been 
described, simply as having fusiform pseudo-bulbs, whereas 
during life they are quite different in shape from each other. 
The best way of classifying the species is, I believe, by the 
form of the lip. Thus— 
