fs 
assortment of wings, feathers, beaks, and bills.* From the beasts they have not copied quite so freely as from the 
birds, yet resemblances may be traced to tigers, leopards, lynxes, bulls, rams, and monkeys, and even to man himself. 
In the catalogue of reptiles we find an endless variety of snakes, lizards, toads, and frogs.t Of shells, likewise, there 
are many kinds.§ Then follows a mixed multitude of masks, cowls, hoods, caps, and helmets; swords, spurs, crests, 
pikes, arrows, and lances; whiskers, eyelashes, beards, bristles, tails, horns, and teeth; combs, slippers, buckets, trowels, 
pouches, saddles, &c. &c.|| Nor is this mimicking propensity confined to the flowers alone, being equally conspicuous in 
their leaves and pseudo-bulbs, which have been likened to onions, cucumbers, bamboos, and palms; tongues and mouse- 
tails; hooks, whips, and straps; swords and needles, &c. &c. Of some the leaves are inscribed with Arabic characters, 
of others the roots are cased in coral. 
Such are Orchidacez as distributed through the world at large; it now only remains to notice them when 
confined within the limits of Mexico and Guatemala. And in so doing our attention will at once be attracted by the 
prominence of the particular tribe of Epidendrew, which, although greatly surpassed in other countries by the Vande 
and Malaxidew, may here challenge a comparison with either, not merely in number of Species, but in the interest 
and beauty of their flowers. ‘To the truth of the latter proposition the illustrations of this work bear ample testimony, 
the very choicest subjects being derived from the ranks of that dominant tribe. What, for example, can exceed the 
magnificence of such plants as Lelia superbiens, Lipidendrum macrochilum, Barkeria spectabilis, or Cattleya Skinneri 1* * 
Or what can be more graceful than Epidendrum aromaticum or E. erubescens!' The splendid genera Lelia and Barkeria 
are almost exclusively Mexican, and where shall we hope to find forms of more perfect elegance, pencilling of more 
exquisite delicacy, or colours of more sparkling lustre than their various flowers display ! 
But these regions so unusually rich in Epidendrec are far from poor in other tribes. Here Oncidiwm flourishes in 
the greatest variety and beauty, while Stanhopea, Odontoglossum, and Mazillaria put on their most showy attire, and 
Mormodes, Cycnoches, and Catasetum their most marvellous forms.++ The terrestrial species, also, are both numerous 
and beautiful, but the greater difficulty that attends their introduction and cultivation has unfortunately narrowed our 
acquaintance with them. The Pelican-fiower (Cypripedium Irapeanum) and Govenia capitata, with many other plants 
of extraordinary interest, are still included amongst our desiderata, notwithstanding that every exertion has been made 
to obtain them. A splendid exception, however, occurs in Sobralia macrantha, already the pride of British collections, 
though far from having attained the vigour which distinguishes it in its native haunts, where it is no unusual thing to 
meet with thickets ten feet high, composed entirely of its reed-like stems. 
The only other peculiarity of Mexican Orchidacez to which it is necessary to advert, is the circumstance of their 
being more abundant in the higher latitudes and purer air, than in the hot and _pestiferous jungles of the coast. They 
have even been found in situations where snow not unfrequently falls, of which Oncidium nubigenum and Lelia superbiens 
are conspicuous examples. This power of withstanding a certain degree of cold must be regarded as a most important 
circumstance, especially by those—a numerous class, no doubt—who have hitherto only admired Orchidacez at a 
distance, and been deterred from attempting their cultivation by the heat and expense that ordinarily attend it. 
* The column in most Orchidaceous plants has its wings and beak infinitely diversified in structure. Feathers are not so plentiful, but they may be seen in great 
beauty in the various species of Ornithocephalus, all of which are quite birds in miniature. Psittacoglossum atratum, au unintroduced Mexican plant, has a black tongue 
like a parrot, and La Luave named it accordingly. 
+ The skins of the tiger and the leopard are rivalled by the petals of such plants as Sianhopea tigrina, Bulbophyllum leopardinum, &c.; the “flos lyncea” of 
Hernanvez (which can be no other than the Stanhopea Martiana of this work) is so called from its lynx-like eyes and teeth; Dendrobium taurinum has much of the bull 
about its face; and various Cataseta—C. semiapertum especially—grin like the ugliest monkey. Aceras anthropofera, the man-orchis, is a well-known plant. Even 
extinct animals do not always escape; a geologist would instantly recognise the head of a Dinotherium in the flowers of Masdevallia infracta. 
t Pleurothallis ophiocephala has a strong resemblance to a serpent’s head, and Pholidota imbricata an equally strong resemblance to a rattle-snake’s tail. Lizards 
occur in Pleurothallis saurocephalus and Epidendrum lacertinum, and frogs in Epidendrum raniferam. 
§ Zygopetatum cochleare, Epidendrum cochleatum, and Pholidota Conchoidea afford as pretty specimens as any; Pleurothallis chitonoides is also a little gem of its 
kind. 
|| The genera Coryanthes, Corycium, Bonatea, Pelexia, &e., all derive their names from caps and helmets, which they yield abundantly. For hideous masks we 
must look to Mormodes atropurpurea; for cowls to Monacanthus (now Catasetum) discolor and viridis; swords and pikes and other weapons. of war are supplied in 
quantities innumerable by the various and complicated forms of the lip. Epidendrum selligerum, and many more, are provided with good saddles, and a host of Sac- 
colabia and allied genera carry large bags and pouches. 
4] Onions in Oncidiwm cebolleta ; cucumbers in Dendrobiwm cucumeroides ; bamboos in Arundina bambusifolia ; palms in Angrecum palmiforme ; tongues and mouse- 
tails in Dendrobium lingueforme and D. myosurus ; hooks in Arpophyllum spicatum ; whips in Mawillaria (now Scuticaria) flagellifera ; straps in Pleurothallis strupifolia ; 
needles in Epidendrum aciculare ; swords, passim. The name of Grammatophyllum scriptum proclaims its peculiarities (somewhat tautologically); Corallorhiza also. 
** Jn the establishment of Messrs. Loppraxs this plant has produced clusters of flowers as large as a man’s head. In the same collection, Cattleya citrina—of 
old so refractory—has been found to succeed perfectly by merely inverting the plant (when suspended), and permitting it to grow downwards. 
++ Stanhopea tigrina, S. Martiana, Odontoglossum grande, and Mawillaria Skinneri, all belonging to Vandee, are unrivalled for the beauty and magnitude of 
their flowers. Catasetum Russellianum, figured in the “ Botanical Magazine,” is, perhaps, the best of the Cataseta, at least if seen in perfection, when its large pendulous 
masses of whitish green flowers have a striking effect. 
