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THE ORCHIDS OF THE BOMBAY PRESIDENCY. 



By G. A. Gammie, f.l.s. 



Part I. 



The following descriptions and remarks, unless otherwise duly 

 specified, are not to be taken as altogether of general application to the 

 order in their nature, because they are purposely restricted to illustrate 

 only the orchids found wild in the Presidency. 



Orchids of every description are distinguished with facility by the 

 most superficial observers, by a fades intuitively recognized, but 

 difficult to define briefly in words. They can be conveniently grouped 

 into two divisions by their manner of growth. The first, Terrestrial, 

 comprising those growing with their roots imbedded in the soil and 

 depending upon it for nourishment, as do the majority of flowering 

 plants ; the second, Epiphytic, consisting of the larger proportion 

 orowino; on trees, rocks and similar media, but deriving their nourish- 

 ment, not from their hosts, but solely from the air and moisture. The 

 roots of the latter are usually fully exposed. These are sparse in most, 

 but in some form complicated masses, and they attach themselves firmly 

 to whatever the plant grows on. They have usually a tense, stringy, 

 glaucous appearance, are pale and shrivelled when dry, but plump, green 

 and glistening during the rainy season when viscid drops of liquid 

 often hang from their tips. 



In popular language, plants belonging to the first division are fami- 

 liarly known as Ground Orchids ; those of the second are called Orchids 

 par excellence. 



In the first division also the plants are only visible above ground 

 during the growing and flowering period. Epiphytes, on the other 

 hand, hive pseudo bulbs which remain clearly visible all the year round, 

 although they are sometimes devoid of leaves in the dry weather. In 

 these the flowers may be borne by shoots of the previous year which are 

 often leafless, or by growths of the current year but never by eiiher or 

 both indifferently. Orchids are endowed with tenacious vitality, and 

 the life of individual plants, especially when allowed to exist under con- 

 genial circumstances, seems to be of unlimited duration. They, however, 

 readily perish under adverse conditions, and where artificially culti- 

 vated, success is only ensured when they are favoured with treatment which 

 imitates as closely as possible the details of their natural environment. 



