CHAPTER LIM: 
RENANTHMERA. 
A genus of tropical epiphytes of which only half-a-dozen 
species are known, and two of which are cultivated in 
gardens. They have slender, sometimes branching stems, 
occasionally 12ft. to 14ft. high, bearing a row of leaves on 
either side. The flower-stems originate at the nodes, and 
bear the blooms in panicles or drooping spikes. The 
segments of the flower are spreading, the dorsal sepal and 
the petals being usually smaller and narrower than the 
two lateral sepals; the lip is small, and attached to the 
base of the column—on the under side is a short, conical 
spur. The species are natives of tropical Asia and the 
Malayan Archipelago. 
Culture.—From March to October—which is the growing 
season of the two species described—the plants re- 
quire the hot, moist atmosphere of the stove. Both 
are very free-rooting, and R. coccinea — the commoner 
species of the two—should be fastened on a block of fern- 
stem or wood, to which it will soon become firmly attached 
by its roots. Birch-wood has been recommended for the 
purpose, but we prefer the stem of a tree-fern, such as 
Dicksonia antarctica, the soft, spongy roots holding the 
moisture and agreeing with the roots of the Renanthera. 
Grown in this manner, the plants require to be moistened 
