159. ORCHIDACE.E. [17. Dkndrobium. 



8. D. crepidatum, LindL 



Stems pendulous striate green and white, thin at the base, thickened 

 upwards, 0-18", covered when dry with the long thin scarious sheaths 

 of fallen leaves. Leaves linear-lanceolate acuminate 2-4" by -4- -6". 

 Flowers • 5-1" long, pink or white with a large yellow spot on the lip, 

 1-3 on very short bracteate peduncles from the slightly swollen nodes 

 of the leafless stems. Sepals broadly oblong subequal subobtuse. 

 Petals broadly ovate. Lip broadly obovate, pubescent, edges undu- 

 late, apex broad sometimes retuse, base narrowed to a short claw" with 

 a short transverse ridge in front of it and a small pit behind. 



Chota Nagpur (without precise locality), Cardon ! Fl. March. 



PautUiui (from whom the description is mainly taken) says that the flowers are 

 •75-1" diam. and that the smaller-fld. Sikkim plant is self-fertile. The Rev. 

 Cardon's plant was 1 • 5" diam. and pink with buff on the base of the lip. Mentum 

 short obtuse. Column very short and broad. Ovaries stalked divergent, very 

 slender, purple. Capsule clavate 1-75" long tapering into a long pedicel and 

 terminated by the thick remains of the column and mentum. 



9. D. fimbriatum, Hook. 



Stems tufted 2-4 ft. long, grooved, terete, base swollen. Racemes 

 pendulous on usually leafless, sometimes leafy, stems. Flowers 

 chrome yellow 2" diam., sepals erose or entire oblong spreading 

 flat, petals larger subequal, • 75-1". Lip 1 • 5" long orbicular fimbriate, 

 red-veined within and (var. oculata) with a deep reniform purple 

 blotch. 



Frequent in cultivation in Eanchi ! and occurs wild in Jalpaiguri district ! Only 

 sent from Suguja by the Bev. Cardon from our area. Fl. h.s. 



Leaves distichous, ovate-lanceolate or lanceolate acuminate, 3-6" long (6-8" in 

 var. oculata and strongly nerved). Flowers 7-12 in the lax raceme. Bracts 

 herbaceous minute. Mentum short. Lip equally deeply fringed, with truncate 

 base, undivided but sides somewhat erect and base concave. 



10. D. moschatum, Wall. Syn. D. calceolaria, Carey (182.3); Epiden- 

 drum moschatum, Hatn. (1800). 



A tufted epiphyte with stout terete erect striate stems, 3-6 ft. long 

 and -5" thick with distichous oblong or oblong-lanceolate or (a few) 

 ovate-oblong coriaceous leaves 3-5-6" long, and large flowers 1-5-2" 

 or sometimes 3" diam. in laxly 8-16-fld. lateral racemes 4-12" long. 

 Racemes one or tAvo from a node very near the apex of a leafless or 

 leafy stem, base of peduncle stout and with many sheathing imbri- 

 cating bracts, pedicels slender 1-2" long. Colour very variable, 

 usually golden-yellow in our area with 2 dark spots on the calceolar, 

 pyriform or hemispheric lip, the margins of which are much incurved 

 all round and slightly fimbriate. 



Sarguja, Cardon ! Occasionally cultivated in our area ! Fl. May-July. 



Stems leafy. L. with subamplexicaul base, obtuse or subacute, with about 

 9 stronger parallel nerves. Fl. rhachis deflexed often zigzag with floral bracts 

 scarious narrowly oblong obtuse -4- -6" long. Flowers fragrant, odour often 

 musky, 1-2" long with a pronounced mentum, colour of flowers variously described 

 or figured as white or gold or yellowish-pink, or sepals and petals oclu'aceous with 

 reddish tips and orange or red veins and lip ochraceous with 2 large brownish spots 

 inside the cup, or (in a Khasia form) blood red with spur dark yellow. Capsule 1" 

 obovoid with thickened truncate beak (remains of column, etc.). 



1175 



