[ 32] 
long, tough, and single, sometimes running down the branch or trunk of a tree, between the fissures of the rough bark, 
to the length of 12 feet or 15 feet, and so tough and tenacious that it required considerable force to detach or break them. 
Many of these plants were in flower, and, notwithstanding the small shrivelled appearance of the leaves, the flowers were 
large and the yellow colour strongly marked. On more than one occasion I saw a splendid A. sesquipedale growing on 
the trunk of a decaying or fallen tree, and sending its tough roots down the trunk to the moist parts of the vegetation on 
the ground. I found one decayed tree lying on the ground almost overgrown with grass and ferns, on the rotten trunk of 
which A. sesquipedale was growing most luxuriantly. The roots, which had penetrated the soft trunk of this dead tree, 
were white and fleshy, while the leaves were longer and comparatively soft and green. There were neither flowers nor 
flower stalks on any of the plants growing in the rich vegetable mould furnished by this old dead tree. I occasionally 
noticed both A. sesquipedale and A. eburneum growing not only on the branches of living trees, but high up on the 
bare barked trunks of the dead trees.” 
From the account of the behaviour of this Orchid in its native habitat, we may infer that a moderate amount of 
shade and moisture is most conducive to its health, and while growing in the rich vegetable mould the plants did not 
produce flowers, but those growing on dry, exposed parts flowered freely, although the foliage became shrivelled. Under 
cultivation in Europe, it requires the same treatment as East Indian Orchids, such as Vanda and Aérides. As it possesses 
no pseudo-bulbs, it must not be subjected to a protracted resting period; in fact, the only rest it requires is during the 
late autumn and early winter months, when it should be kept moderately dry. During its season of growth, which 
occurs in spring and summer, it needs an abundance of water and a hot and moist atmosphere. It must be shaded from 
fierce sunlight, but too much shade induces a soft, unripened growth. It flowers during winter, from November to 
February, and the flowers continue in perfection for quite a month if the atmosphere is somewhat dry and warm. 
The flower spikes carry from one to four flowers; the finest plants we have 
seen have borne as many as twenty flowers 
on five spikes. Although strictly an epiphyte, pot culture suits it best, and it must be potted high so as to encourage 
the formation of aerial roots, and at the same time prevent too much water lodging about the base of the stem. The 
habit of growth is well shown in our plate, which represents a small plant carrying a spike of three flowers. There 
are two forms of this Orchid in cultivation, one of which is distinguished in having larger flowers than the ordinary 
form, and moreover blooms later. In both the leathery foliage is of the same deep green, and the flowers are of a wax-like 
substance, ivory white at first, afterwards turning to a pale yellow. 
Drawn from a plant now in the possession of John Connell, Esq., Bushey Down, Tooting Common. 
