of the sepals. The middle lobe of the lip is concave, the side lobes erect. Flowers 
white, the bases of the lip and segments being deep crimson, and the petals 
spotted with the same colour. Flowers late Winter and early Spring. Lasts about 
a month. 
MAXILLARIA VENUSTA. Native of Colombia. 
A robust growing species with typical pseudobulbs, each with one broad-oblong, 
recurved and sharply pointed leaf a foot or more in length and glossy, light green 
in colour. Scapes basal, curving upwards, clothed with reddish bracts and bearing 
a single flower which is somewhat inclined to nod. These flowers are large, about 
6 inches across, and their sepals are broad at the base and tapering to a point. 
The upper one is concave, while the lower ones are undulated and slightly curved. 
Petals somewhat shorter than the sepals. The middle lobe of the lip is triangular, 
recurved, yellow with two crimson spots, while the erect side lobes are red along 
the edges. The sepals and petals are pure, shining white. Flowers in Winter and 
Spring. Blossoms last from three to five weeks. 
MICROSTYLIS 
A fairly numerous genus of terrestrial orchids, some few of whose species are 
worthy of cultivation for the beauty of their foliage, their flowers being insignifi- 
cant. The fleshy pseudobulbs die away within a year of maturing and new growths 
spring from their bases as soon as they have flowered or developed fully. Like 
Physureae they require moist, warm conditions at all times, so that a glasshouse 
is essential and heat desirable in the Winter months. A compost of peat broken 
into small pieces with a little chopped sphagnum moss and osmunda fibre with 
some leaf-mould and powdered brick will suit them. They should be grown in 
the smallest pots compatible with the size of the plant. The compost and the 
atmosphere about them must be kept moist at all times. The following are the 
best of these:— 
MICROSTYLIS CALOPHYLIA. Native of Malaya. 
A prettily variegated species. Leaves ovate, narrowed to a point at the tip, pale, 
yellowish-green with a patch of deep brown in the centre, with numerous lines 
of the brown crossing the yellow part. Flowers, borne on an erect spike, are tiny 
and yellow. 
MICROSTYLIS CHLOROPHRYS. Native of Borneo, 
A handsome species with leaves 4 inches long and two inches wide narrowed to a 
point, the edges being waved. Lower part and stems purple. Middle of leaf 
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