THE PHILIPPINE 



Journal of Sciencl 



C. Botany 



Vol. IV .NOVEMBER, 1909 No. 5 



NOTES ON PHILIPPINE ORCHIDS WITH DESCRIPTIONS OF 



NEW SPECIES, I .* 



By Oakes Ames. 

 {From the Ames liotanieal Laboratory, North Boston, Mass., U. 8. A.) 



It has been suggested by Dr. Fritz Kranzlin that the species of Den- 

 drochilum which I have assigned to the section Acoridium ought to 

 constitute a distinct genus. Dr. Kranzlin asserts that the form of the 

 labellum is quite distinctive in Acoridium on account of its likeness to 

 the letter E. When I studied Dendrochilum tenellum in the preparation 

 of Fascicle I of "Orchidaceae" I felt strongly that it belonged to a genus 

 entirely distinct from Dendrochilum because of the absence of stelidia 

 from the column and of the peculiar subhliform leaves. Since then I 

 have been convinced by a study of more material that Acoridium belongs 

 to Dendrochilum. In the first place, the E-formed labellum on which 

 Dr. Kranzlin lays emphasis is only characteristic of a majority of the 

 species of the section Acoridium and is not found in D. turpe, D. oligan- 

 tltum. J), kasiatum, P. Merrill ii and I), ocellatum, which clearly belong 

 to the section. In the second place the lack of stelidia in the species of 

 § Acoridium is not a wholly satisfactory differentiating character between 

 it and § Platyclinis. It is not satisfactory because the lack of stelidia 

 expresses a condition which is approached by well-defined species of Den- 

 drochilum such as D. palawanense and because D. MerriUii in which the 

 stelidia are absent from the column is in every other respect a well-marked 

 species of Dendrochilum § Platyclinis. Furthermore, there is no habit al 

 distinction by which to separate the species of Acoridium from Den- 

 drochilum. The linear leaf characteristic of D. tenellum, D. aphacelatum 



Proof corrected by E. D. Merrill and C. B. Robinson. 



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