426 ORCHIDS. 
two or three new ones. These must be separated when 
the plants are repotted. 
P. Hookeriana.—A dainty little gem, distinct from the 
others in developing leaves and flowers together, and in 
requiring constant cool treatment under cultivation. It 
has purple pseudo-bulbs, about the same size and shape 
as a robin’s egg. The leaves, when mature, are 
ovate, and about 2in. long, deep green, and plaited. The 
flowers are borne singly from the centre of the new growth, 
and are 2in. wide. The sepals and petals are bright rose; 
the lip scoop-shaped, white, with a few brown-red blotches 
on the lower part. This species is found wild at an 
elevation of 800o0ft. to 10,oooft. on the Sikkim Himalayas, 
usually clinging to the moss-covered trunks of trees. In 
the cold season the temperature of these regions is often 
many degrees below freezing-point. It thrives in cultiva- 
tion when attached to a block of fern-stem, or to an ordinary 
block padded with sphagnum; or it may be grown in a 
shallow pan. A position close to the roof in a cool, moist 
house, such as suits Odontoglossums, is the best for this 
Pleione. The flowers are developed in April or May. It 
was introduced in 1878. 
Botanical Magazine, t. 6388. 
P. humilis.—This distinct and pretty species flowers 
much later than the others, March being the month when 
it is usually at its best. Its dark green, flask-shaped 
pseudo-bulbs have long necks, are furnished with dark 
green foliage, and are partly enveloped in brown sheaths. 
The flowers are not developed until long after the plant 
has lost its foliage; they are fully 34in. across. The 
sepals and petals are narrow, spreading, and pure white, 
or sometimes tinted with rose, and glistening like frosted 
silver; the lip is funnel-shaped, widely expanded at the 
