140 MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN 
of Cattleya Trianaei has been reached. The actual work of 
collecting is done by the natives who climb the trees, to the 
trunks and branches of which these orchids are securely 
attached. The plants are pulled off, packed on the mules 
and taken to headquarters. Here they are graded accord- 
ing to size and variety, packed dry in boxes or crates and 
sent to the nearest seaport for transportation. Several 
months usually elapse from the time the orchids are first 
collected until they reach their final destination. 
Geographical Distribution. Orchids are very widely dis- 
tributed, being represented in the temperate, sub-tropical 
and tropical floras. The epiphytic forms are confined to 
the warmer countries, whereas the terrestrial and saprophytic 
species inhabit both temperate and tropical regions. Cypri- 
pedium pubescens, one of the lady’s slipper orchids and 
representative of the terrestrial species, grows in Missouri, © 
in fact as near St. Louis as Allenton. It is one of the so- 
called “ground” orchids that are found in the temperate 
regions of North America and Europe, inhabiting both dry 
and swampy regions. Of these the most interesting Euro- 
pean form is the bee orchid, Ophrys apifera, found grow- 
ing on chalk hills in exposed positions. 
The epiphytes—those species found growing upon trees— 
first make their appearance in Florida, increasing in luxuri- 
ance southward. Their greatest development is reached in 
South America, where the well-known cattleyas, laelias, 
odontoglossums, oncidiums, miltonias and representatives of 
numerous other genera are at home. Of these the first two 
are found in three rather distinct regions,—the extreme 
northern portion of Mexico and Guatemala, the northern part 
of the South American Continent extending from the West- 
ern Cordilleras of New Granada to British Guiana, and 
lastly the maritime province of southeastern Brazil. Plants 
of the Cattleya labiata group, remarkable for the large size 
and -beauty of their flowers, are native of the Colombia- 
Guiana region. Among these are C. Trianaei and the well- 
known. varieties, “Mossiae,” “Gaskelliana” and “Percival- 
liana,” ete. One of the most widely distributed genera is 
Oncidium, representatives of which are found in the West 
Indies, Mexico, Central America, Venezuela and both the 
east and west coasts of South America, extending as far south 
_ as Montevideo, These plants show an almost equal diversity 
_ as to habitat, some occurring in the hot, damp river valleys or 
in close proximity to the coast, while others are confined to 
the mountainous a rarely ascending above nine thou- 
_ sand feet, or descen 
g below five thousand feet, elevation. 
Cos 
