t>lO THE WONDERS OF VEGETATION. 



trees in equatorial forests in which case they are 

 called epiphytes or upon the soil, in which case they 

 are called terrestrial orchids. The first, by far the 

 most numerous, hang from the shady vaults of trop- 

 ical forests like graceful garlands of incomparable rich- 

 ness. 



Here we are told they had adorned the brow of 

 royal Indian maidens, flourished in the palaces and 

 perfumed the luxurious air of Peruvian courts ; they 

 were the love-messengers of noble Mexican youths ; 

 they lay, a mournful tribute of affection, on the grave 

 of a departed friend, and hung their fantastic garlands 

 along the gold-glowing walls of Mexican temples. 



" Under the tropics," says Humboldt, " the orchids 

 enliven the trunks of the trees which have been black- 

 ened by the rays of the sun and the cliffs of repulsive 

 rocks. The flowers of the orchids resemble sometimes 

 winged insects and sometimes the birds which the 

 perfume of their nectaries attract. The life of a paint- 

 er would be insufficient to represent the magnificent or- 

 chids that grow even within a small space in the deep 

 valleys of the Peruvian Andes." 



Unlike any other parasites they enrich the tree on 

 which they grow. Flowers of brilliant colors, infinite- 

 ly diversified, decorate the upper branches of the trees 

 and give forth a perfume so sweet as to become ener- 

 vating. They grow downward, unlike other flowers, 

 and seem to be purely aerial beings, the roots even 

 finding their food in the atmosphere alone. The rich- 

 ness of their colors and perfume is such that not only 

 Europeans admire and appreciate them, but the pow- 



