For February, 1922 



49 



Orchid Exhibit at the Missouri Botanical Garden 



GEORGE H. PRING 



OF recent date the garden orchid collection has been 

 considerably augmented by the donation of the 

 noteworthy Brownhurst collection, by the late 

 D. S. Brown, of Kirkwood, Saint Louis. This splendid 

 private collection combined with the garden botanical 

 orchids, places it as one of the foremost of public col- 

 lections, making it possible to present an exhibition equal 

 to any other botanical garden exhibition. 



In previous years. 

 the flowering plants 

 have been shown in 

 mass formation ar- 

 ranged in alcoves upon 

 tiers of stages which 

 seem tO; be the adopted 

 method.- Occasionally 

 we find the stages 

 camouflaged with cork 

 bark and then again 

 we find rockeries built 

 in artistic design. These 

 pseudo creations have 

 been used at the gar- 

 den at various times 

 despite the fact that 

 it is misleading to the 

 general public in so 

 far as imparting habit 

 of the growth of the 

 plant and especially 

 where the epiphytes 

 are grown in pots, is 

 it impossible for the 

 layman to understand 

 the ditTerence between 

 epiphytes and terres- 

 trials or the sapro- 

 phytes when they are 

 all shown as one class. 

 Previous years when 

 people have been view- 

 ing the flowering or- 

 chids, one will fre- 

 quently hear remarks 

 as: "Oh, here are the 

 orchids ! Why, 1 



thought they grew 

 upon trees!" "Sure," 

 replies the companion. 

 "They're parasites." It 

 is therefore manifested 

 that the public should 

 be enlightened as to the 

 characteristics of the 

 orchid by arranging the 

 plants in a replica of 



their natural environment. The must familiar flower to 

 the layman is that of the large mauve colored Cattleya and 

 without this flower in quantity, there are no orchids, 

 despite the fact that hundreds of (Jther species and hybrids 

 are shown. 



In view of these manifestations, the garden has deviated 

 from the average arrangement so that the visitor may 

 study the individuality of both flower and plant. thereJDv 

 familiarizing' himself' with the difl:'erent 



habits of the 



orchid and likewise suggesting that there are just as many 

 showy orchids outside the genus Cattleya. The most 

 natural wav lo educate the public is by copying the orchid 

 as grown in the tropics. It was therefore decided to use 

 the floral display house (Banquet hall for the N. A. G. 

 Convention. 1920) so as to reproduce a replica of the 

 Cordilleras of Colombia and Venezuela. During the past 

 \-enr all dead trees were collected from the garden arbore- 

 tum and city parks, the 

 tops being used after 

 they were cut to a 

 height of twenty to 

 twenty-five feet and the 

 side branches cut to 

 a convenient shape. 

 Twenty-five of these 

 trees were brought into 

 the house and arranged 

 in forest formation, in- 

 terspacing with tall 

 growing palms and 

 overcoming the Dare- 

 ness of the branches by 

 the use of Tillandsia 

 iisucoides in festoons. 

 These trees were em- 

 bellished with all the 

 flowering epiphytes as 

 Cattleya, Lcelia, Lcc- 

 hocattlcya, Brassocat- 

 tlcya, Vaiida, Acrides, 

 Epidcndnini, Coryan- 

 thes, Dcnbrobium, etc., 

 and arranged so as each 

 specimen could be read- 

 ily distinguished from 

 the other. The spa- 

 cious brick floor was 

 entirely covered with 

 six inches of partially 

 decomposed leaves, as 

 one would expect to 

 find when travelling 

 through the forest, 

 even the walks received 

 this covering so as to 

 suggest the beaten trail, 

 so much so, that visit- 

 ors at first were afraid 

 to traverse the sug- 

 gested area, thinking 

 that the entire space 

 was reserved for the 

 display. All the ter- 

 restrial orchids were 

 arranged beneath the 

 trees countersunk m this leaf mulch so as to hide the pots 

 and to give the impre-sion as if they were growing natu- 

 rally in the ground. Ferns were used in combination with 

 such terrestrials as Phragniopcdilum {Sclenlpcdium), 

 Paphiopcdllum { Cypyipcdiiiin) , Taiiiia. Habenaria. etc. _ 

 The press has been highly complimentary upon this 

 exhibition, giving it wide publicity. The January attend- 

 ance has been greater than any previous year, live thou- 

 sand visiting the show during the opening afternoon. 



A iiliiiipsc- 11/ the orchid exhibit at the Missinin Botanical Garden 



