The following includes the best and most interesting species of Cypripediums 
and Phragmopedilums. (Selenipediums and Uropediums). 
CYPRIPEDIUM ARGUS. Native of Philippine Islands. 
A striking species belonging to the second group. Leaves up to 8 inches long and 
one inch in width. Dark green in colour, beautifully variegated with yellowish 
green. The flower scape grows from the centre of the growth and attains a 
height of from 1 to 2 feet, and bears a large and showy flower. The dorsal sepal 
is large and is white with green stripes and generally a few purple lines at the base. 
Petals are about 3 inches in length, with wavy edges, whitish in colour, with green 
stripes towards the base, and rosy at the tips, the surface being covered with purple 
eyes. They bend downwards. The pouch is broad and brownish purple; greenish 
underneath, 
This plant is found in the island of Luzon, on the slopes of the highlands at an 
altitude of about 4000 to 5000 feet, this elevation reducing somewhat the trop- 
ical monsoonal warmth of the lower levels of the Island. The plant requires com- 
paratively warm treatment and ample moisture right through the Summer and 
Autumn. The compost should be kept damp, even in the Winter months. In 
Sydney, and the colder parts of Brisbane and Southern Queensland, glasshouse 
treatment will be desirable. In the warmer parts a bushhouse giving a minimum 
temperature of 50 degrees will be satisfactory. . 
Varieties Moonsii and nigrescens are fine variations of the type, the former being 
more densely spotted than the type; while in the latter variety the spots run so 
much together that they appear like large black blotches (hence the name). 
CYPRIPEDIUM BARBATUM. Native of Malaya. 
A popular and very variable species belonging to the first group. Leaves are 
about 6 inches long, pointed and channelled. They are light green in colour, 
beautifully mottled and blotched with dark green. Scapes are from twelve to 
fifteen inches in height, downy, and purplish. Flowers are borne singly. Dorsal 
sepal large and broad, the upper half being pure white, while the bottom is pale 
green, striped with purple. The petals are narrow with a fringed edge, green and 
white more or less, stained with purple, and with tufts of black hairs protruding 
from a row of purplish-black warts near the upper edges. The pouch is large and 
purplish black in colour. It flowers in early Summer and lasts up to 10 weeks. 
There are many recognised varieties of this species all like the type, but differing 
in various degrees of colouring and spotting—also in size. 
Varieties nigrum (larger than the type) and superbum (more richly coloured) 
are the best of these, while variety biflorum, though smaller than the type, is 
interesting in that its scapes are usually two-flowered. 
This species will need heated glasshouse treatment in Sydney and the oleley parts 
of Brisbane and South Queensland. In the warmer parts a glasshouse or bush- 
house providing a minimum Winter temperature of 65 degrees, will satisfy its 
requirements. It is found on the lower slopes of Mt. Ophir, in Sumatra, and also 
96 
