ORIGINAL COMMUNICATIONS. 



XIV. — A Notice of some species of Rhododendron inhabiting 

 Borneo. By John Lindley, Ph.D., F.R.S., Vice-Secretary. 



"When Mr. Hugh Low returned from his visit to Borneo, he was 

 so obliging- as to place in my liands some drawii)gs and dried 

 specimens of certain species of Rliododendron which occur in that 

 island growing upon trees. They are found to be very distinct 

 from all previously known, and in many respects so deserving of 

 notice, that it has been thought advisable to prepare the follow- 

 ing short memorandum concerning them. 



In Mr. Low's account of Sarawak* they are spoken of thus : — 



" Perhaps the most gorgeous of the native plants are the va- 

 rious species of the genus Rhododendron, which here assume a 

 peculiar form, being found epiphytal upon the trunks of trees, 

 as in the genera of the tribe Orchidacete. This habit, induced 

 probably by the excessive moisture of the climate, is not, how- 

 ever, confined to the Ericaceous plants, but also prevails with 

 the genera Fagrsea, Combretum, and many others, usually ter- 

 restrial ; the roots of the Rhododendrons, instead of being, as 

 with the species, inhabitants of cold climates, small and fibrous, 

 become large and fleshy, winding round the trunks of the forest- 

 trees ; the most beautiful one is that which I have named in 

 compliment to Mr. Brooke. Its large heads of flowers are pro- 

 duced in the greatest abundance throughout the year: they must 

 exceed in size that of any known species, frequently being formed 

 of eighteen flowers, which are of all shades, from pale and rich 

 yellow to a rich reddish salmon colour. In the sun the flowers 

 sparkle with a brilliancy resembling that of gold-dust. 



" Four other species which I discovered are very gorgeous, 

 but of diff'erent colours, one being crimson and the other red, 

 and the third a rich tint between the-e two : of tiie fourth I have 

 not yet seen the flowers. Besides the curious nature of the root 

 above noticed, botanists may learn that tliese species differ from 

 others of the genus in having very small, almost imperceptible 

 calyces, and caudal appendages to the seeds ; these last greatly 

 facilitating the attainment of a situation favourable for their 

 growth." — p. Q^. 



The peculiar habit ascribed to these plants of forming large 

 fleshy stocks, instead of the fine fibrous roots proper to the Aza- 

 leas and Rhododendrons at present in cultivation, is also met 



* Sarawak : its Inhabitants and Productions, Sec. By Hugh Low, Colo-- 

 nial Secretary at Labuh-an. 



VOL. III. G 



