26 THE FOREST 



known is the Dendrobium nobile. It grows in the 

 lower hills and valleys up to 5,000 feet, and also in 

 the plains. The flowers vary both in size and shade 

 of colour ; but in Sikkim the sepals and petals are 

 always purple, shading off into white at the base. 

 The tip has a central blotch of very deep purple 

 surrounded by a broad margin of pale yellow or 

 white. This orchid is now very common in English 

 hot-houses, so here is one point of contact with the 

 tropical forest. 



TheD. densiflorum is equally common and grows 

 in much the same region. It flowers in a dense 

 cluster on a stalk somewhat after the fashion of a 

 hyacinth. The sepals and petals of this beautiful 

 species are of a pale yellow, while the lip is of a rich 

 orange. One of the most charming of the Sikkim 

 dendrobiums has the smell of violets, and the sepals 

 and petals are w T hite-tipped with violet, the stem 

 being sometimes 2 J feet long. Another noteworthy 

 dendrobium is the JD. pierardi, whose prevailing 

 colour is a beautiful rose or pale purple. 



After the dendrobiums the coelogyne are the 

 most worth noting. The Coelogyne cristata is 

 common at elevations of from 5,000 to 8,000 feet, 

 and flowers during March and April. It has 

 numerous large flowers, which are pure white 

 throughout, with the exception of the lamellae of 

 the lip, which are yellow. It may be seen in flower 

 in March in the orchid-house at Kew. In the forest 

 it grows in such profusion as to make the trunk of 

 a dead tree look as if it were covered with snow. 



The C. humilis is known as the Himalayan 

 crocus. It grows like a crocus from a pseudo-bulb 



