60 



THE VICTORIAN NATURALIST. 



This is a very fine and showy genus, all of the Victorian species 

 being of the easiest cultivation. I hare divided it into sections, in 

 accordance with the arrangement in the " Flora," as I dare say it 

 will render the examination of the species somewhat easier. 



Section 1. Cucullaria. 



Column-wing produced behind and beyond the anther into a broad 

 hood over it, variously lobed or fringed at the top. 



Thelymitra aristata (Lindley.) This common though, lovely 

 species is, perhaps, the finest of the whole genus, the color being of 

 a beautiful bluish violet. In some favoured spots this plant may be 

 found in hundreds, and often two feet high, and these on a sunny 

 day when in full bloom are a sight worth seeing, even to the most 

 casual observer. This species is known to colonists as the Native 

 Hyacinth, (I have certainly seen more absurd names given to plants 

 than this one), and it may be looked for in all sorts of country, 

 whether in heathy swamps, grass or forest land, stony rises, and in 

 fact, nearly every\yhere, although I have found the largest and 

 handsomest specimens generally in damp, sandy soil. It is very 

 easily gro\Tn as a pot plant, and it can be removed without difficulty. 

 The best plan which I have found to grow it well, is to lift the 

 plants before they come into bloom, and flower them in the pot, say 

 6 or 8 plants in one large (8 inch) pot, use plenty of drainage, and 

 water rather sparingly, gradually witholding it as the blooms begin 

 to fade. If properly attended to, it will flower year after year as 

 well if not better, than when in its native situation. I wish to be 

 understood that it is always preferr.ble (if possible) to obtain the 

 tubers whilst in the dormant state, but this can only be done by 

 marking the places where the plants grow, a somewhat vague 

 method, as when one goes to look for the place where he marked his 

 Orchid, he may find a four-roomed cottage erected on the very 

 spot, with a corresiDonding notice to trespassers in the vicinity. I 

 must here confess that the difference in some of the species in this 

 genus completely puzzle me, and I have to seek the scientific aid of 

 the Baron to satisfy myself as to their identity. Flowers in 

 October and November. Forms of this species are found in South 

 and Western Australia, and in Tasmania. 



T. ixioides (Swartz.) This beautiful Orchid is much rarer than 

 either T. longifolia, T. aristata, or T. antennifera, being found 

 but very sparingly near Melbourne. The stem is from 6 to 18 

 inches high, the flowers standing out very prominently from the 

 spike, after the manner of T. epipactoides, a species which I shall 

 mention fm'ther on. The flower is of a fine bluish pm-ple, and very 

 often the sepals are marked with a plum-colored blotch or spot, but 

 the specimen here shown, Mr. Sullivan informs me, was quite plain, 

 and I am not quite certain whether the typical color be spotted or 

 plain. I have usually found it marked. It may be readily dis- 

 tinguished from T. aristata, by its more slender shape, although it 

 shows signs of many points of variation, many of which can readily be 



