86 REMARKABLE FLOWERS. [CHAP. 
part of this old herbalist’s opinion be true or not we 
cannot say, but certain it is that the bees are very 
fond of another species—the Bee Orchis (Ophrys 
apifera)—whose flowers equally well mimic the bee. 
Two other species (O. avanifera and O. arachnites) 
resemble spiders. A North American species is called 
the Crane-fly Orchis, from a supposed resemblance 
of the flower to that insect; whilst a British species 
(Peristylus viridis) is called the Frog Orchis, though 
we have failed to find any resemblance to justify the 
connection. 
All these native species of Orchids grow on, or 
in, the earth like most other respectably conducted 
plants, but some of their tropical relatives take to 
climbing trees and growing from the branches, with- 
out any visible means of existence. Some species 
of Odontoglossum are of this habit, though they are 
chiefly remarkable for the magnificent beauty and 
large size of their flowers. One species (O. grande), 
a native of Guatemala, bears flowers six inches across ; 
the petals long and spreading, of a yellow colour, 
beautifully marked with blotches and bands of brown. 
Another species (O. tigvinum) has the flowers spotted 
with purple-brown, and strongly perfumed with the 
odour of Violets. A nearly related genus (Onczdium) 
consists of over two hundred species, all of them con- 
fined to tropical America, though some cannot pro- 
perly be considered as tropical species, seeing that 
they grow at immense altitudes, where the tempera- 
ture is very low. Thus Oncidium Warczewiczit, a 
native of Costa Rica, grows on oaks at an elevation 
of from 8,000 to 10,000 feet, and has been found to 
—_— "lee 
