LEPTOTES LIMATODES. 211 



Leptotes. 



This small genus of Orchids deserves to be in every collec- 

 tion ; it consists of small and compact-growing plants, with 

 cm-ious evergreen terete foliage channelled on the upper side, 

 about three inches long, and producing their flowers from the 

 top of the bulb. They are of easy culture, and will do either 

 on blocks or in pots with peat. These plants are very 

 accommodating, for they will grow in either house, requiring 

 a liberal supply of water in the gi'owing season. They are 

 propagated by dividing the plants. 



L. hicolor. — A pretty Orchid from Brazil ; sepals and petals 

 white, with a blotch of purple on the lip ; it blooms during 

 the winter months, lasting four weeks in beauty. 



L. serrulata, — A charming little plant, from the same 

 country as L. hicolor ; the flowers are nearly the same in 

 colour, the only difference being, that they are much larger. 

 It blooms in April and May, and lasts three weeks in 

 perfection. 



Limatodes. 



L. rosea. — A charming winter-flowering Orchid, and the 

 only species of the genus that I have seen ; there are, how- 

 ever, many varieties of it. I have had five in flower at the 

 same time, all difi'ering more or less from each other in 

 their colour, which varied from white to dark rose and pink, 

 with difi'erent shades of rose. Few plants are more interest- 

 ing or decorative during the dull season, and they may be had 

 in flower for months together. It is a deciduous plant, with 

 short thick pseudobulbs and flag-shaped leaves. The flower 

 spike proceeds from the base of the bulb, and attains a height 

 of ten inches, bearing many flowers, which are usually of a 

 pleasing shade of rose. During the growing season these 



