04 THE FLOWERS OF 



these delightful epiphytes decorate with their fragile 

 but showy forms the otherwise naked and unsightly 

 stumps of decaying forest trees. 



The most gaudy are perhaps the various species of 

 Caslogyne, called collectively by the natives the ' bunga 

 kasih-an,' or the flowers of mercy ; they are all highly 

 fragrant, and their white and orange coloured flowers 

 are exceedingly delicate and beautiful. Several 

 Vandas, of which the continent of India has produced 

 so many for the ornament of our gardens, are found 

 here inferior to none of those from India, many of 

 which are, by one gigantic species, far surpassed in 

 beauty. This I have been successful in introducing 

 into England, and Dr. Lindley has done me the 

 honour of naming it after me. 



One kind of the beautiful genus Cyprepedium, or 

 Ladies* Slipper, so named from the curious form of the 

 labellum, far surpasses in beauty any of its tribe from 

 other countries. The Dendrobiums, which in India 

 are so gorgeous, here dwindle, for the most part, 

 into insignificant flowers ; while the species of ^Eria 

 which are abundant, are so beautiful that, were they 

 once seen, they would probably raise their hitherto 

 despised genus in the estimation of the English culti- 

 vator of these beautiful plants. Of the smaller kinds, 

 the Cirrhopetalon Bolbophyllum, and some other 

 genera, though not showy, are curious, delicate, and 

 beautiful. Several new species and some genera I 

 have had the pleasure of introducing into England. 



On the banks of the rivers, and growing as 

 underwood in the dense jungles, are found many 



