RENANTHERA. 435 
once or twice a day in summer, under which treatment the 
stems will lengthen 1ft. or more in a season. Only during the 
hottest sunshine should they be shaded, a free exposure to 
the light being most important if flowers are to be 
obtained. R. Lowii should be potted in clean sphagnum, 
with which a few pieces of charcoal may be mixed. The 
pots should be of good size and drained to two-thirds 
their depth. Like R. coccinea, it needs abundance of light, 
heat, and moisture when growing. Both species, when at 
rest, should have only just sufficient water to prevent the 
foliage from shrinking. 
R. coccinea.—Owing to the difficulty of inducing this 
species to flower, it is not a popular plant in gardens; it 
is, however, very easily grown, and when in bloom is a 
most magnificent sight. It is of climbing habit, and in its 
native country clings to the trunks of trees by the white, 
fleshy roots emitted from the slender stem, which is round 
and scarcely the thickness of a man’s finger. The strap- 
shaped, dark green leaves are arranged in two rows, and 
are 4in. to 5in. long, and notched at the tips. The flowers 
are 2in. to 3in. in depth, and are somewhat sparsely pro- 
duced in loose, branching racemes, measuring 2ft. to 3ft. 
through at the base. The upper sepal and the two petals 
are strap-shaped, blunt at the tips, and coloured deep red, 
blotched with orange. The two lower sepals are larger, 
and form the most conspicuous part of the flower, being 
of a deep crimson, marked with paler transverse lines; in 
shape they are oblong, slightly widened towards the apex, 
with undulated edges. Both sepals and petals on the out- 
side are orange-coloured, changing to red at the margins. 
The lip is small, the front and sides being deep crimson, 
and the throat white; it is furnished with a pointed, conical 
spur. This species was introduced from Cochin China in 
