ORCHIDACEiE 



Dendrobiinse, but rather to Adrorhizinae. Schlechter admits four 

 subgenera, as follows: 



A. Leaves at the base without sheaths. 1. Athecebium. 



B. Leaves on conspicuous sheaths. 



I. Pseudobulbs or stems fleshy, or with a fleshy swollen zone. 



1. Pseudobulbs or stems fleshy or thickened throughout their length. 

 2. Eu-Deiidrobium. 



2. Pseudobulbs or stems with only 1-3 fleshy, thickened internodes near 

 the base. 3. Rhopalolobium. 



II. Stems wiry, dry, always very slender. 4. Xerobium. 



SYNOPSIS OF THE SPECIES 



AUTHENTICALLY REPORTED FROM THE PHILIPPINES 



The genus Dendrobium is of sufficient importance in the Philip- 

 pines to warrant an effort to distribute the species into groups, 

 according to their alliances, with brief characterizations. As a basis 

 of distribution I have chosen the sections admitted by Schlech- 

 ter in his studies of the orchids of New Guinea. From this ar- 

 rangement I have excluded doubtful species. In each section the 

 important distinguishing characters are printed in italics. Those 

 species which are described in this volume are marked with an 

 asterisk. 



Schlechter's arrangement is a very natural one. Although he 

 admits forty-one sections, of which sixteen are represented in 

 the Philippine Islands, it is much to be preferred to the briefer 

 arrangement adopted by Kranzlin in the monograph of the Den- 

 drobiinse in Engler's Das Pflanzenreich. One cannot help but 

 feel, however, that Schlechter proposes an unnecessarily large 

 number of sections in his revisions of genera, and that his tend- 

 ency is toward complexity rather than simplicity, notwith- 

 standing his efforts to establish a workable system. His scheme 

 in Die Orchidaceen von Deutsch-Neu-Guinea is admirable, and 

 indicates tireless efforts to bring into conformity with modern 



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