PREFACE 



AMONG the plant families that constitute the vegetation 

 ./Y. of the Philippine Islands the Orchidacege is the richest 

 in representatives. It exceeds the Rubiacea?, the next largest 

 family, by several hundred species. Although, in addition to the 

 regular explorations carried on by the botanical department of 

 the Bureau of Science at Manila, several collectors have given 

 special attention to the search for orchids, there are still large 

 areas, botanically unknown, from which it is highly probable 

 that rich accessions to our orchid herbaria will be made. 



In the list that follows it has been necessary to exclude many 

 species referred by authors to the Philippines on questionable 

 evidence or on unreliable data. At the same time several spe- 

 cies have been included which, though inadequately known be- 

 cause of the absence of types, were originally described from 

 material supposedly of Philippine origin. Furthermore, for pur- 

 poses of discussion, a very few species have been admitted to 

 the list which have not yet been found in the islands, although 

 ascribed to them by monographers. 



The genera Arundina and Bromheadia have been reported 

 from the Philippines on the evidence of Cuming's 2058 and 2054. 

 Vidal, in a footnote on page 88 of Phanerogams Cumingianae 

 Philippinarum, excluded 2053 to 2058 inclusive from the Phil- 

 ippines, and states that they belong to specimens gathered at 

 Singapore. Naves ascribes Arundina pent an dr a Reichb. f. and 

 A. WaUichii Reichb. f. to Luzon, but on evidence which we may 

 safely disregard. 



Dendrobium lamellatum Lindl. is given an extension of range 

 by Fritz Kranzlin in his recent monograph, that includes the 

 Philippines. The basis of this extension is Cuming's 2074. Unfor- 



[ix] 



