304 



GARDENERS' CHROMCLE 



Collectine Orchids in Central and South America 



I. Coiitiiuicd from X ovcmbcr issue) 



<<T.\ASMLXH as arrangements were now completed 

 I with reliable native collectors, I turned my attention 

 to the business of collecting in the Andes around Bo- 

 gota. In this region at an altitude of 9,0CX) feet, only ter- 

 restrial orchids are found. Some interesting genera, such 

 as Pleurothallus, Stellis. and Odontoglossum, were very 

 prevalent. The latter genus is notable for its yellow-flow- 



Lcaving Upper Magchilcna River on Raft en Route lo the Xa't'igahle 

 Port of Girardot. 



ered species, flavescens, which is often mistaken for Onci- 

 dium when first seen. This species evidently will soon 

 become extinct, since the natives collect the plants, strij) off 

 the leaves, and carry the pseudo-bulbs down to the 

 market place where they are sold for food. We 

 first discovered this species through the remains of 

 the leaves whi.'h had been torn off and left on the 

 trail. Another interesting orchid which is familiar 

 in our collection is Epidendruni. The majority of 

 the species are of e])iphytic habit, but those in this 

 region are terrestrial. They may be found grow- 

 ing either along the hedge-row in company with 

 various other tall-growing plants, or in dense 

 shade. The most common species noted is the 

 ])ink-flowered Iqiidendrum eltMigatum. 



"In addition to collecting orchids my attention 

 was now turned to the collection of hcrbaritnn 

 s])ecimens. One of the most common plants here 

 is the dandelion, which is of course imported with 

 Iiuro])ean or .American grass seed. Drying speci- 

 mens tor the herbarium is not a very easy propo- 

 sition in I'lOgota because of the moist atmosphere. 

 .After these daily trips all specimens had to be 

 ])laced between drying pads and finally ]nit in jjress 

 to prevent spoiling. On an average it took ten 

 flays to two weeks to pre])are specimens, all the 

 dr\ing pa])crs being changed daily. 



''\ ])lace of interest, both because of natural 

 scenery and as a collecting area is Tcfiuendama 

 Froni Rf)gota, you can go by train to within three miles of 

 the [-"alls and the remaining distance by ox-cart. The falls 

 are not very large from the stand|joint of volume of 

 water, comparing them with Niagara, but tliey have a 

 drop of over vlOO metres. I think the natural scenery 

 surrounding this area is the most picturcsf|uc T have ever 



seen, l-'or the Andes of Bogota, the hills are extremely 

 rich in the orchids mentioned, and in general the flora 

 is much richer. 1 was very highly interested in a white- 

 flowered Epidendrum which I finally succeeded in reach- 

 ing and bringing back for the Garden collection. 



■■( )n June 10 1 was highly delighted to receive a tele- 

 gram from the Cattleya Trian.-e collector at Xatagaima, 

 stating that the orchids would shortly be leaving that 

 region and that the natives had brought in 50 ar- 

 rol)as miirc than he was supposed to jnu'chase. 

 -My reply was that 1 would lake all that had been 

 collected. 



".My next trip was to Girardot, the uppermost 

 |)ort nf the L'pper Magdalena River. Here I 

 found fifty cases of the coveted Cattleya Trianas 

 in the Norman Black warehouse awaiting my in- 

 s]iecti(iii. A half-dozen cases were unpacked, and 

 I found that my instructions regarding packing 

 had been carried out to the letter. The shipment 

 was now ready for its homeward trip. The plants 

 in this shipment were collected near the small vil- 

 lage of Natagainia. where my native collector had 

 his base of operations. From here he spreafl the 

 news that he was in the market for "Tulipans' and 

 the natives immediately got together their pack- 

 mules and started in all directions on the orchid 

 hunt. After a period of three to four weeks the 

 natives, with their pack-mules loaded with 'Tuli- 

 pans' roughlv tied in Ijundles, began to arrive. 

 These were bought by the collector for so much 

 the arroba. They were then cleaned and put luider 

 cover to dry, then packed in the c;Ises without any 

 packing material whatever. The most important 

 feature was to see that the plants were absolutely dry 

 when packed, otherwise they will rapidly begin to rot. 

 "The next lap of the journey was by mule back to 



ills. 



()\i the Trail lo the Quiiidco Poss. 



the L'pper Magdali-na Kiver. twenty-five miles with two 

 cases each being rc(|uire<l. Here a large double-decked 

 coffee raft was waiting. On this raft the cases were 

 n<iatc(l down llie >treain In my b.ase of o])erations in 

 (lirardot. l'"roin there they were again freighted f)n mule 

 back to the Norman Black warehouse, near by. The next 

 part of the journey after their final ins])ection and O. K. 



