ORCHIDACE.E 



conveniently divided into two large sections, one characterized 

 by leafy, the other by leafless stems. Both sections are represented 

 in the Philippines, each by a single species. 



Vanilla is of special interest, as it contains the only orchids 

 that are economically important. 



Vanilla majaijensis Blanco is a doubtful species which authors 

 have referred to V. planifolia Andrews, the vanilla of commerce. 

 If this treatment is correct, then Blanco's specimens, as Mr. 

 R. A. Rolfe suggested in his monograph of the genus Vanilla, 

 may have been introduced from Mexico by the Spaniards. 



V. ovalis Blanco, which Naves considered identical with V. aro- 

 matica, is probably conspecific with V. majaijensis. In my herba- 

 rium there is a specimen from Laguna Province, Luzon, the 

 type locality of V. ovalis, which Mr. Merrill has referred to V. 

 ovalis Blanco. If Mr. Merrill's suppositions, published in his re- 

 view of the identifications of the species described in Blanco's 

 Flora de Filipinas, are correct, V. ovalis and V. majaijensis are 

 conspecific, in which case V. ovalis Blanco would by priority be- 

 come the name of the species. Unfortunately Blanco's types 

 are no longer in existence, so that no clear understanding of his 

 species can be reached. 



The next step is to examine V. philippinensis Rolfe. The spe- 

 cimen from Laguna Province, referred to above, which Merrill 

 identified as V. ovalis, appears to be conspecific with V. philippi- 

 nensis, and is a native of the region from which Blanco's mate- 

 rial was received. It is impossible to arrive at a definite conclu- 

 sion, but conjecture surely favors the supposition that V. ovalis, 

 V. majaijensis, and V. philippinensis are one and the same; a 

 conjecture strengthened by the evidence which has gradually 

 accumulated to show that V. philippinensis is not uncommon in 

 the Philippines, while no other species comparable to V. ovalis or 



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