584 ORCHIDACE^J. 



plants are to be found in all climates except the very 

 coldest and driest ; they are most abundant in the hot, 

 damp regions of the tropics, where they exist in the 

 greatest profusion, not, as in temperate countries, de- 

 riving their nourishment from the earth, but supported 

 by the moisture that floats around them. Clinging 

 to the trunks and branches of trees, to the stems of 

 ferns, and even to the bare rock, they seem to adopt 

 the habits of animals as well as to imitate their forms. 

 In many of these the flowers only are conspicuous, the 

 plant itself consisting of creeping, claw-like roots, and 

 tufts of elliptical bulbs, from the summit of which 

 spring a few tough leaves, and wiry, jointed stems, 

 which seem incapable of producing the symmetrical 

 and curiously-coloured flowers they are destined shortly 

 to bear. Of late years, great attention has been paid to 

 the cultivation of exotic Orchideous plants ; and by 

 imitating, as far as possible, their natural condition, 

 great success has been already attained. An Orchideous 

 huse is now a common adjunct to the conservatory in 

 the gardens of the wealthy, where, if it be well managed, 

 some one or other of these curious air plants, as they 

 have been called, may be seen in bloom at all seasons of 

 the year, some clinging to broken potsherds, some to 

 logs of wood, some to the outer fibre of the cocoa-nut, 

 or simply suspended by wires from the roof of the 

 house. It is somewhat remarkable that endless as are 

 the varieties of form which the flowers of this tribe 

 assume, their properties vary but little. They furnish 

 few, if any, medicines of importance ; to the useful 

 arts they contribute only a kind of cement or glue, 

 which is recommended by no particular excellence ; a 

 nutritious substance called Salep is prepared from the 

 roots of Orchis mdscula and other species, but this is 

 not extensively used ; and though the flowers of many 

 species are very fragrant, no perfume is ever extracted 

 from them. With the exception of Vanilla, the dried 

 fruit of Vanilla aromdtica, which is much used in 



