CHA PTE Rs) 3 XOCy TH: 
LYCASTE. 
EVERY amateur’s collection should include representatives 
of this genus, all the species being of easy culture, and 
noted for their free-flowering qualities. They have short, 
thick pseudo-bulbs, varying in different species from r}in. 
to 6in.in height. The leaves are two to four in number, 
plaited, acuminate, and being of a bright shining green, and 
firm in texture, the plants, even when not in flower, 
have a handsome and luxuriant appearance. The flower- 
scapes, which are generally numerous, spring from the base 
of the pseudo-bulbs, and usually carry a single flower; in 
vigorous specimens, however, twin-flowered scapes are 
not unusual. The flowers are large, and, although 
somewhat stiff in appearance, they are very hand- 
some; the sepals are erect, the dissimilar petals folding 
more or less forward over the column; the lip is three- 
lobed, the middle lobe being furnished with a transverse 
fleshy appendage. The flowers remain fresh on the 
plants for several weeks; they are also useful for cutting. 
There are upwards of thirty species in cultivation, ail 
of which are natives of tropical America and the West 
Indies. By growing the selection given below, Lycastes 
may be had in flower nine or ten months out of the 
year. 
