DENDROBIUM. | 51 
17. DENDROBIUM NOBILE, Lindl. Gen. and Spec. Orchid., 24. 
Stems erect, somewhat compressed, ‘4 in. thick near the apex, thinner at the base, 
12 to 24 in. long. Leaves coriaceous, oblong, the apex sub-obtuse and obliquely notched, 
slightly narrowed to the base; length 3 to 4:5 in., brealth :75 to 1-1 in. Flowers 2 to 3 
in. across, solitary, or two to four in short racemes from the nodes of the leafy or 
leafless stems; the floral bracts "25 to "85 in. long, loose, scarious. Sepals subequal in 
length, the dorsal oblong-elliptic, the lateral pair oblong, all obtuse. Petals elliptic, 
broader than the sepals. Lip broadly ovate-oblong, pubescent, the margins of the lower 
half incurved, the terminal half cucullate, with recurved spreading margins, the base 
with a very short claw. Column short, erose just behind the anther, very broad opposite 
the stigma. Mentum conical, blunt, short. Ал ег conical, its lip truncate and erose; 
pollinia elongate, narrow. Lindl. Sert. Orchid., t. 3; іп Bot. Reg. 1844, Misc. 48; in 
Journ. Linn. Soc. ІП, 12; Paxt. Mag. VII, t. 7; Hartm., Parad. I, t. 11; Reichb. fil. 
in Gard. Chron. XVII, 366; Williams Orch. Alb. t. 214; Veitch Man. Dendrob. 63, 
with fig, and var. nobilius, 64; Reichenbachia, II, t. 58 (var. Sanderiana); Hook. fil. 
Fl. Br. Ind. V, 740. D. caerulescens, Wall. in. Lindl. Sert. Orchid., t. 18; Bot. 
Reg. l с. D. Lindleyana, Griff. Notul. ІП, 309 (excl. fig.); Lindl. in Journ. Linn. 
Soc. III, 18. | 
Sikkim; ascending to 5,000 feet; Hooker and many collectors, Pantling No. 362; 
in flower during April and May.. Westward to Nepal and eastward to Bhotan, the 
' Khasia Hills, Assam and Upper Burmah. Distrib. China. 
A beautiful species, very common in Sikkim. 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 lip has a central blotch of very deep purple, surrounded by a 
broad margin of pale yellow or white; the anther is purple and the column green with 
vertical purple lines in front. Plants have been observed of which the stems elongated 
annually and produced flowers four years in succession. 
Рглтв 71.— Dendrobium nobile, Lindl, Part of a flowering plant of natural size, and a whole plant 
much reduced in size. Fig. 1 base of lip to show the short claw, 2 column with its foot and the 
anther in situ, 9 anther, 4 pollinia; ай enlarged. 
18. DENDROBIUM PIERARDI, Roxb. in Hooker Exotic Flora, t. 9. 
Stems slender, pendulous, slightly swollen at the nodes, 2 to 4 feet long, smooth. 
Leaves sessile, rather thick, lanceolate to ovate-lanceolate, sub-acuminate, caducous, 
length 2 to 4 in., breadth 1 to 1:5 in. Flowers 1:25 to 1°75 in. across, solitary or 
two or three from very short minutely bracteate peduncles springing from the slightly 
swollen nodes of the leafless stems. Sepals subequal, oblong-lanceolate, sub-acute- 
Petals much broader than the sepals but not longer, elliptic, blunt. Zip sub-orbicular 
(when spread out), with a very short claw but without side lobes; the edges erose 
near the base, shortly ciliate on the anterior half, the upper surface pubescent, conyo- 
lute to form a tube with a wide circular shell-like open mouth. Column and its foot 
about equal in length; the latter with a transversely elliptic nectary at its extremity. 
Anther with a curved erose lip. Capsule clavate, cylindric, 2 in. long. Roxb. Fl. Ind. 
Ann. Roy. Bor. GARD,, CALCUTTA, Vor. VIII. 
