3046 



SACCHARUM 



SACCOLABIUM 



spontaneum, Linn. Less tall and stout than sugar- 

 cane, freely blooming, found in the Medit. region, 

 where it is sometimes cult, as a hedge-plant, and 

 throughout the tropics of the Old World. A variety of 

 this, S. segyptmcum, is shown in Gn. 11, p. 78; 16, p. 323. 



ciliare, Anders. Lvs. very narrow, channeled, glau- 

 cous, the lower erect. Intro, from India. Said to make 

 large clumps and to be hardy at Santa Barbara, Calif., 

 but not known to bloom there. A. S. HITCHCOCK. 



SACCOLABIUM (name refers to the saccate label- 

 lum). Orchidacese. Epiphytic herbs with erect leafy 

 stems increasing in length by continued growth at the 

 apex, grown in warm glasshouses. 



Leaves distichous, leathery and fleshy, usually chan- 

 neled: infl. lateral, in the cultivated species a long, 

 densely fld. cylindrical raceme; fls. medium or small; 

 sepals subequal, free, spreading, the lateral pair not 

 decurrent on the base of the column; petals similar, 

 sometimes wider; labellum united with the base of the 

 column, spurred, the mouth of the spur open; pollinia 

 on a filiform stipe. About 20 or more species. Can be 

 prop, by offsets and by cut-backs. Fresh stock is con- 

 stantly imported. 



This interesting genus embraces a number of pretty and 

 distinct species from Borneo, Cochin-China, India, Java, 

 and Philippines. They are closely allied to the genera 

 Aerides, PhalaBnopsis and Vanda, and require some- 

 what similar treatment, but dp not always acclimatize 

 themselves as readily to artificial cultivation unless 

 given a location with more or less natural surroundings, 

 although some of the more free-growing species, like S. 

 ampullaceum, S. curvifolium, S. coeleste, and S. Hender- 

 sonianum, can usually be grown successfully in the 

 cattleya or cypripeoUum department. The large- 

 growing species with thick succulent leaves require a 

 warm moist atmosphere where the winter temperature 

 can be retained at 65 to 70 F. by night and about 75 

 during the day, and in the summer or growing season 

 10 in advance of this. All succeed best when suspended 

 from the roof in panSj baskets or on blocks where they 

 can have free circulation of air about them at all times, 

 receive indirect benefit of the sun's influence, which 

 will harden their tissue, and where the compost may 

 readily and frequently dry out, during the resting 

 period especially. Grown otherwise the more succulent 

 species, such as S. giganteum (a Vanda), make soft 

 weak tissue, which is susceptible to wet-spot, a usually 

 fatal disease. Clean chopped sphagnum, freely inter- 

 spersed with broken pieces of charcoal, is the most 

 satisfactory growing material, and this should not be 

 pressed in so firmly as entirely to exclude access of au- 

 to the roots, but the plants must always be firmly 

 secured with pieces of charcoal, potsherds or other 

 similar material, or securely fastened with copper wire 

 to keep them in position, otherwise being more or less 

 top-heavy they are liable to work loose, under which 

 conditions they cannot become properly established. 

 Shading should be applied to the glass from February 

 until November to break the sun's direct rays, but dur- 

 ing the remainder of the year when the solar light is weak 

 its direct influence will be found beneficial. In bright 

 weather in the growing season the plants need a liberal 

 supply of water, both at the roots and over the foliage, 

 but during the resting period and in wet inclement 

 weather, water and syringing must be carefully and 

 sparingly administered. Judgment in this respect 

 is very essential to the successful culture of these 

 plants. The supply of saccolabiums is kept up by fresh 

 importation. These cultural directions apply also to the 

 genus Rhynchostylis. (Robert M. Grey.) 



A. F Is. rose-colored. 



Hendersonianum, Reichb. f. Dwarf: Ivs. 4-6 in. 

 long, strap-shaped, subacute, distichous on the sts. 

 but spreading in various directions: raceme upright, 



about as long as the Ivs.; fls. forming a cylindrical mass, 

 bright rose, %jin. across; dorsal sepals orbicular, con- 

 cave, lateral ones larger, obovate-oblong; petals obo- 

 vate; labellum a blunt, straight spur with 3 teeth at the 

 mouth, white. Borneo. B.M. 6222. 



ampullaceum, Lindl. Fig. 3518. Dwarf: st. 6-8 in. 

 high, with 2 rows of Ivs. : Ivs. strap-shaped, channeled, 

 apex truncate and dentate : racemes nearly erect, 4-6 in. 

 high; fls. deep rose-color; sepals and petals ovate, 

 veined, spreading out flat; labellum linear-falcate, one- 

 half as long as the petals; spur slender, straight. May, 

 June. N. India. B.M. 5595. P.M. 13:49. J.H. III. 

 32:463. Var. moulmeinense, Hort., is a geographical 

 variety with stronger growth and larger fls. 



AA. Fls. orange or scarlet-orange, 

 curvifdlium, Lindl. Sts. short: Ivs. linear, 8-10 in. 

 long, 2-toothed at the apex: racemes somewhat droop- 

 ing, 6 in. long, dense; fls. 1 in. across, bright orange- 

 scarlet; sepals and petals ovate to obovate, spreading; 



3518. Saccolabium ampullaceum. ( X M) 



labellum orange, blade linear, truncate, spur obtuse. 

 May, June. Burma, Java. B.M. 5326 (as S. miniatum). 

 I.H. 13:493. 



cerinum, Reichb. f. St. short, thick: Ivs. strap- 

 shaped, obtusely 2-lobed: raceme dense, half drooping; 

 fls. orange, with a paler spur; sepals oblong; petals 

 ovate. Sunda Isls. 



AAA. Fls. white, spotted with blue. 

 coeleste, Reichb. f. Plant rarely 1 ft. high, with 

 decurved Ivs. and erect, densely fld. racemes 6-^9 in. 

 long: fls. white, with the front of the lip and the tips of 

 the segms. sky-blue; sepals and petals cuneate, oblong, 

 obtuse; labellum rhomboid, spur compressed, curved. 

 July, Aug. Siam. J.H. III. 28:87; 46:25. 



