868 



LADRONES 



L/ELIA 



northernmost of the group. The Ladrones lie in an 

 almost straight line north and south. They were cap- 

 tured from Spain in July, 1898, and Guam was retained 

 by the United States chiefly as a coaling station. 



The Ladrones were discovered in 1521 by Magellan 

 in the first voyage round the world. They were the 

 first islands in the Pacific to come into continuous 

 contact with European civilization. The aboriginal 

 race, the Chamorros, is extinct, and was replaced 

 chiefly by Tagals from the Philippines. These have 

 deteriorated. 



The chief settlement is Agana, on the island of Guam, 

 which contains a majority of the population of the 

 whole group. The Spaniards had but one mail a year 

 between the Ladrones and the Philippines. 



The Ladrones are well wooded, but the original flora 

 has almost vanished. None of the Pacific islands pos- 

 sesses any metal, or any native mammal, save a kind 

 of bat. 



The Ladrones are said to have a more agreeable 

 climate than is common within the tropics. There is 

 moisture at all times, but a so-called "dry season" lasts 



LADRONE 



1222. Ladrones. 



from June to Sept., during which time the northeast 

 trade winds prevail. The rainfall is in most places 

 abundant. The highest part of Guam is 1,500 feet above 

 the sea. 



The Ladrones have exported no fruit to speak of. 

 Cocoanuts and bananas are perhaps the chief fruits. 

 Guava figs and breadfruit grow well. Other products 

 are rice, sugar, indigo, arrow-root, cotton, tobacco, and 

 even wheat. 



One of the best recent accounts of the Ladrone 

 Islands is in Appleton's Annual Cyclopedia for 1898. 

 For maps of the Ladrones, see Century Atlas, and 

 Overland Monthly 33:92. For references to recent lit- 

 erature, see the Cumulative Index of Periodical Litera- 

 ture. There is a book on the history of the Ladrones 

 written in Spanish. It is an octavo of 210 pages pub- 

 lished at Granada in 1886, and entitled Historia de 

 las islas Marianas. The author is Luis de Ibanez v 

 Garcia. 



LADY'S EARDROPS. Short-flowered Fuchsias. L. 

 Garters. Phalaris arundinacea, var. picta. L. Mantle. 

 Alchemilla vulgaris. L. Slipper. Cypripediums, L. 

 Smock or Meadow Cress. Cardaminepratensis. L. Tres- 

 ses. Spiranthes. 



LfllLI A (meaning uncertain). Orchid&cece. A useful 

 and attractive genus of orchids, mostly with large, 



showy fls. borne singly or in 2- to many-fld. racemes, 

 which arise from the top of 1-2-lvd. pseudobulbs. The 

 plants greatly resemble Cattleyas, and differ only by the 

 presence of 8 perfect pollen masses instead of 4, as in 

 Cattleya. Lvs. oblong, coriaceous or fleshy, not plicate: 

 pseudobulbs terminating the annual growth, ovate, cla- 

 vate, fusiforin or stem-like, long or short, consisting of 

 1 to several thickened internodes, or of slender and 

 quill-like form with merely a small bulbous swelling at 

 base, sheathed with scales and bearing 1 or 2 Ivs. at 

 the summit : sepals subequal, free, spreading ; petals 

 wider and sometimes longer, spreading; all usually 

 plane: labellum free from the base of the column, more 

 or less distinctly 3-lobed, the lateral lobes short, erect, 

 folding over the column; middle lobe long, expanded, 

 lanceolate-ovate, etc. : column concave in front, and 

 thus narrowly 2-winged on the edges: pollinia 8, 4 in 

 each locule: scape terminal, long or short, bracted. 



The genus contains about 30 species, dispersed in the 

 maritime provinces of Mexico and Guatemala and in S. 

 Brazil. No species is common to the two widely sepa- 

 rated regions. A single species, L. monophylla, in- 

 habits the mountains of Ja- 

 maica. In their native hom( 

 the plants are often four 

 clinging to bare rocks 

 trees, where they are expos* 

 to the full force of the tro; 

 cal sun, and, in the wet 

 son, to daily drenching rains 

 Some of the species grow 

 great altitudes. Thus, L. a\ 

 tiimnalis,va,r. furfuracea, 

 always found in alpine 

 gions at elevations of 7,1 

 8,500 ft. For a list of cult 

 vated kinds, see R. A. Rolfe 

 G.C. III. 7: 107, 256, 333, 

 and 8:241, 652. 



Lselia may be conveniently 

 divided into groups, as fol 

 lows: 



GROUP I (species 1-10).- 

 Pseudobulbs rounded, pyi 

 form or ovate. The ph 

 of this section are mediui 

 sized, with the pseudobull 

 terminating each year 

 growth sessile at inters 

 on the rhizome, and sheath< 

 at least at first with br 

 leaves. The scape, except 

 L. grandiflow , is long ar 

 slender, erect, nodding 

 sub-horizontal, and bears 



its end 1 or 2 fls. (L. anceps), or a raceme of 2-7 

 (L. albida). L. grandiflora, placed here on account 

 its thickened pseudobulbs, bears greater resemblance 

 the members of the next group. 



GROUP II (species 11-13). Pseudobulbs short-cylii 

 drical, stem-like, or swollen jointed, i. e., consisting 

 several internodes and sheathed with bracts. Thes 

 plants are of dwarf habit, bearing 1-2 very large fls 

 on short scapes, so that the top of the flower scarcel 

 exceeds the Ivs., which are oblong, about 6 in. long, ai 

 leathery. 



GROUP III (species 14-23). Pseudobulbs long-oblong 

 fusiform or clavate, tapering below to a sheathed ai 

 jointed stalk. This group contains the largest and m( 

 showy Lffilias. The pseudobulbous stems are tall ai 

 tufted, a foot or more in length, forming robust, coi 

 pact, almost bushy plants. The flowering stems of 

 superbiens are said to attain a height of 12 ft. The 

 cemes bear 3-7 large, handsome flowers. 



GROUP IV (species 24-26). Pseudobulbs slender, reec 

 like and tufted, clothed with scales and often somewhj 

 swollen at base. This group includes a few specit 

 which are very distinct on account of their bright sea 

 let or orange-colored fls. and slender, reed-like pseud( 

 bulbs. L. monophylla is perhaps the smallest of a 

 Lselias, being scarcely over 6 in. high, with pseudobull 

 about as thick as a crow-quill. One variety of L, cinnc 

 barina has purple fls. 



