92 



Borneo. 



or eight feet long, bearing large and handsome flowers three 

 inches across, and varying in color from orange to red, with 

 deep purple-red spots, I 



measured one spike, which 

 reached the extraordinary 

 length of nine feet eight 

 inches, and bore thirty-six 

 flowers, spirally arranged 

 upon a slender thread-like 

 stalk. Specimens grown 

 in our English hot-houses 

 have produced flower- 

 spikes of equal length, 

 and with a much larger 

 number of blossoms. 



Flowers were scarce, 

 as is usual in equatorial 

 forests, and it was only at 

 rare intervals that 1 met 

 with any thing striking. 

 A few fine climbers were 

 sometimes seen, especially 

 a handsome crimson and 

 yellow jeschynanthus, and 

 a fine leguminous plant, 

 with clusters of large cas- 

 sia-like flowers 6f a rich purple color. 

 Once I found a number of small anona- 

 ceous trees of the genus Polyalthea, pro- 

 ducing a most striking eflect in the 

 gloomy forest shades. They were about 

 thirty feet high, and their slender trunks 

 were covered with large star-like crim- 

 son flowers, which clustered over them 

 like garlands, and resembled some artifi- 

 cial decoration more than a natural pro- 

 duct. (See illustration, p. 93.) 



The forests abound with gigantic trees 

 with cylindrical, buttressed, or furrowed stems, while occa- 

 sionally the traveller comes upon a wonderful fig-tree, whose 



VANDA LOWII. 



