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ANGRAECUM CAUDATUM cinar 
Caule brevi, radicibus adventitiis cuneato oblongo ligulatis apice inaequaliter bifidis, dimidio altero minori arguto, altero majori obtusangulo, racemo 
deflexo laxifloro, bracteis amplexicaulibus ochreatis acutis abbreviatis, sepalis tepalisque lanceo caudato acuminatis, labello a basi angustiori abrupte dilatato 
subcordato semiovato triangulo abrupte longe apiculato, nunc denticulato, dentato serrato, nunc integro, callo depresso antice abrupto utrinque in basi, apiculo 
in sinu infimo interjecto, calcari filiformi ovario pedicellato pluries longiori, apice acuto seu retuso emarginato bilobo, anthera rostrata rostello longe rostrato, 
caudiculis geminis, 
ANGRA&CUM CAUDATUM Lindl. B. Reg. xxii., 1844! Hook. B. Mag. Ixxiv., 4370! 
LISTROSTACHYS CAUDATA Rehb. f. in Walp. Ann. vi. gor ! Sepala ac tepala viridia seu ochracea seu brunnea, cum ex varietate, tum ex vario floris 
statu. Labelli lamina alba calcari ochraceo scu viridulo. 
Sierra Leone : Specimina mea spontanea: Whitfield! Schroeder! ab egr. Sander missa, 
Nomen antiquum conservari, quod, inter amatores notissimum. Scientifice plante me judice abhorret ab Angreco. List: est ob di 
duas uni glandule affixas, HG. Rehb. f. 
1 1 
Icones analyticee. Labella duo, columna a latere + Columna antice anthera dejecta + Pollinaria duo + Apex caudicale et pollinium inferne + 
Tuts remarkable orchid is still among the rarest in cultivation, though it was introduced upwards of half a century ago. 
It was one of the many plants brought to England through the enterprise of Messrs, Loddiges, of Hackney Nurseries, who 
introduced during the first half of this century more orchids and other plants than all the other nurserymen combined. 
When this Angreecum was first seen in flower, in August 1836, it excited great interest, for though the much larger A. 
sesquipedale was known, the long-tailed flowers of A. caudatum were thought to be equally wonderful. In describing it 
in the Botanical Register, Lindley, speaking of the excessively long spurs of the flower, says: “For what wise purposes 
these extraordinary appendages may have been destined by Nature we may well be unable to imagine. It would seem that 
they must be added to the list of objects which to our confined apprehension appear merely intended to exhibit the endless 
diversity of power of the Creator.” Since Lindley wrote this, other plants possessing wonderful organs have been intro- 
duced from the tropics, and for fifty years naturalists, Darwin amongst them, have been puzzled to account for the uses of 
such organs, and we are no farther advanced in the subject now than then. Since the introduction of A. caudatum our 
knowledge of the genus Angreecum has greatly extended, for we have now more than twice as many species in cultivation, 
some of them almost as remarkable for the length of spur as A. caudatum, such for instance as A. Scottianum, Kotschyi, 
Ellisi and Chailluanum, all of which are as choice as they are interesting and beautiful, 
Unfortunately the cultivation of A. caudatum, as well as of some of the other species, is attended with considerable 
difficulty. When Lindley first wrote about this plant he said that “it seems to be one of the most difficult of the tribe to 
manage successfully, therefore it is exceedingly rare and is likely to remain so.” This is as true now as in 1836 for few 
can grow it successfully for any length of time. Being a native of Sierra Leone it requires a high temperature and a 
perpetually moist atmosphere. A temperature ranging from 70 deg. to 80 deg. F. suits it best during summer, and 
from 60 deg. to 65 deg. in autumn and winter, when also the plant should be kept drier than in summer. In hot 
weather it must have abundance of water, and an occasional syringing benefits it, but an excess of moisture in winter is 
apt to induce leaf-spot, which is in fact its chief enemy. Basket culture is the best for it, and the compost should be open 
and the drainage perfect. It must be shaded from strong sunlight, but otherwise must be allowed all the light possible. 
It flowers in autumn, usually in September and October, and lasts.a long time in bloom. 
Our plate is from a plant in the possession of Baron Ferdinand de Rothschild, M.P., Waddesdon Manor, near Aylesbury. 
