SACCOLABIUM. 



115 



var.— illustre. 



Racemes somewhat longer, with the flowers more loosely arranged ; 

 the flowers larger and more brightly coloured, especially the labellum. 

 S. giganteum illustre, Rchb. in Card. C'liron. XXI. (188i), p. 44. Illus. hnrt. s. 3, 

 t. 517. 



SUb-var.— il/?-. Pdofs (Rchb. in Gard. Chrou. XXIV. (1885), p. 746. 

 Godefroy's Orchidophile, 1886, p. 163), the perianth segments wholly white. 

 Saccolahium giganteum first became known to science in the early 

 part of the present century through Dr. Wallich, who received from 

 one of his collectors a dried specimen gathered near Prome in Lower 

 Burmali. Nothing more was seen of it till 1859, when the late 

 Dr. Sumner, Bishop of Winchester, received some plants from a 

 friend in Burmah, one of which flowered for the first time in the 

 bishop's garden at Farnham Castle in the autamn of 1862. It 

 continued to be extremely rare till re-introduced by us in 1866, 

 through Colonel (now General) Benson, who has communicated the 

 following particulars of its habitat : — 



^^Saccolahium giganteum is not found in Rangoon or Moulmein or 



south of that place,* but travelling northwards beyond the extreme 



influence of the south-west monsoon, the plant appears first in small 



quantities and of small size, but on approaching the drier climate of 



Prome and Thayetmyo, Avhere the hot winds blow and where the 



thermometer in the dry season is about 45° C. (112° F.) in the shade, 



the plant is found in great profusion and luxuriance on trees in a 



deciduous jungle, exposed to the rays of a tropical sun, and in most 



cases with its leaves scorched, f " 



The variety illustre, of which the varietal characters are not very 



clearly defined, is said to have been introduced by M, Linden in 



1882-3. The sub-variety is a white-flowered form discovered by the 



late Auguste Regnier in Cochin China^ and introduced by M. Godefroy, 



of Argenteuil, who states in his Orchidophile that Saccolabium 



giganteum is one of the commonest orchids of that country, growing 



on trees along the skirts of the forest, sometimes on the highest 



branches ; when in flower its powerful fragrance always makes its 



presence known. 



S. Hendersonianum. 



Stem very short, with 3 — 5 or more narrowly ligulate, sub-acute, 

 curved leaves, 3 — 5 inches long. Racemes erect, as long as the leaves, 



* Td est, within the British territories. t Gard. Chron. 1870, p. 811. 



