TREES AND FLOWERS IN TMK NATIONAL BOTANIC GARDEN 



227 



conservatories devoted principally to the growing of 

 plants for exhibition in the main conservatory." 



In one or two of these smaller ones Supt. Hess allowed 

 the author to photograph a number of the rich tropical 

 plants that happened to be in bloom ; more than this, Mr. 

 Paget cut specimens of rare and rich orchids, of coffee- 

 berries, and of other attractive plants for him. Among 

 the flowering plants they photographed there was a par- 

 ticularly rare lady-slipper (Cypripedium z'illosum), re- 

 produced in Figure 6, its exquisite shades of rich sap 

 green, dark green, greeruj5h yellow, and purple veinings 

 lent to it a most striking appearance that caught the eye 

 of the visitor at once upon entering the conservatory. 



the faintest shade of green. The lower central petals 

 are a rich magenta, darkest above where they are cen- 

 trally striped with white. The phenomenon of unfolding 

 or opening is seen half accomplished in the topmost 

 flower of the stem ; the single central petal remains in 

 situ, its free margin simply crimping ; and the pair of 

 petals next to it twist completely around, so that their 

 white side face outwards ; they also crimp, as shown. The 

 inferior pair crimp, too, but retain their position ; the 

 central purple petal curves downwards and becomes the 

 lowermost one, and the white ovary if it be the ovary 

 ])oints directly backwards. As the flower matures, this 

 'grows to at least three times the size it has in the un- 



M.'\l.\ ROTUND.^ OF THE UNITED STATES BOTANIC GARDEN. 



Eig. 4. This is the south side of the building and the pathways leading to it. The cypress trees planted by Edwin Booth and 

 Lawrence Barrett here relieve the severity of the structure behind them. 



Several plants of the lovely Bornean orchid were in full 

 flower, and a fine specimen was presented to me for the 

 purpose of photography ; it is here reproduced in Figure 

 7. The parts that show white in the illustration are white, 

 while the main flower-stem and leaves are grass green 

 the former the lighter of the two. The stem of the plant 

 itself is dark straw color. As to the flower, the speckles 

 are a ]jale umber brown, the petals are emarginated with 

 very pale magenta, and the buds are white, tinged with 



opened bud. The flower-stem springs from the main 

 plant-stem in the axil, several leaves (4-6) down the 

 stalk. The leaves here shown did not belong to the 

 particular bunch of flowers photographed, but were 

 taken from another plant of the same species. Some of 

 the orchids in this conservatory were especially fine 

 and beautiful, particularly a large white one, with very 

 delicate pink emarginations (Figure 8). 



So spacious are the wings and dome of the main con- 



