236 ORCHIDS. 
D. racemosa.—Rootstock tuberous. Stem erect, pro- 
liferous at the base, unbranched, leafy. Lower leaves 
about 4in. long, the upper ones small, all shining green. 
Strong plants produce flower-stems 13ft. high; these 
stems bear from six to twelve handsome flowers, which 
open in slow succession and remain fresh a long time ; 
upper sepal ovate, concave, tin. long, blunt at the 
apex, pouched at the base; side sepals spreading, tin. 
long, jin. wide; petals and lip small, colour a beautiful 
rose, with darker veins; sepals crimson and yellow, with 
purple stripes. Introduced from South-east Africa in 1887. 
Syn. D. secunda. 
Botanical Magazine, t. 7021. 
D. tripetaloides—A very recent introduction, which 
promises well as a garden plant, being free-flowering and 
easily cultivated. Mr. O’Brien, who introduced and flowered 
it a few weeks ago (summer of 1889), says: “It is not 
only the freest-growing and most profuse-flowering Disa 
I ever saw, but also the most easily grown of all South 
African terrestrial Orchids.” It has thick, fleshy roots, a 
stoloniferous stem, lance-shaped leaves, 3in. long, leathery 
in texture, and arranged in a compact rosette. The 
flower-stem is erect, 1ft. or more long, and bears from 
twelve to twenty flowers; each flower is about r}in. 
across, and is white, tinged with pink, and dotted with 
rose-purple; the helmet-shaped dorsal sepal has a short 
spur. The plant remains in flower a long time. Although 
new to cultivation, this species was discovered more than 
a hundred years ago. Syn. Orchis tripetalordes. 
