THE MOST USEFUL ORCHIDS 157 



habit of those named. These include P. Buyssoniana, P. 



DENTICULATA, P. EsMERALDA, P. LOWII, P. LuEDDEMANNIANA, 



P. Parishii, p. sumatrana, and P. violacea, the latter a pretty, 

 small-flowered species with violet-blue flowers. P. Lowii has 

 small purple and white flowers, and is a deciduous species. 



PLATYCLINIS 



The elegant little " Chain Orchids " do not form a very large 

 family, nor are they very important, but two species deserve 

 attention where space permits, because they are so distinct and 

 pretty. They are low, slender growers, with tiny pseudo-bulbs, 

 each with a single leaf. The flowers are quite small and indi- 

 vidually inconspicuous, but they are produced closely together in a 

 pendulous raceme at the end of a wiry stem. In P. filiformis the 

 flowers are yellow, the tiny lip being of a deeper shade. In P. 

 glumacea the sweetly hay-scented flowers are greenish white. 

 Both species thrive at the cool end of an intermediate house. 



PLEIONE 



The beautiful little " Indian Crocuses," or Pleiones, are 

 charming Orchids that flower in the Winter. They occupy little 

 space, and therefore are to be recommended as suitable for amateurs 

 with small glass accommodation. The plants are deciduous, and 

 flower when leafless. They should be potted as soon as the 

 flowers have faded, and may be separated bulb from bulb, and 

 placed at equal distances apart in broad pans, or be simply potted 

 en masse, removing only those new bulbs that stand away from 



