120 ANGR-SCUM. 



In their vegetation the Angrtecums conform to the sub-tribal 

 characters described at the beginning of this section, but they 

 vary considerably in habit inter se, thus Angvi-ecum ehiirneum is one 

 of the most robust orchids known^ while A. hi/aloides is one of the 

 smallest. A. sesciuipedale and A. caiidatum are about midway between 

 them as regards size ; and nearly all the other cultivated species 

 standj in this respect, between these and A. hijaloides. 



The leaves iu the taller species are strap-shaped, complicate at the 

 base and truncate or unequally two-lobed at the apex ; in the dwarfer 

 species they are much shorter, usually oval-oblong, or some modification 

 of that form, obtuse or obliquely two-lobed at the apex ; in all the 

 species very coriaceous in texture, and deep green in colour. The 

 equitant leaves of Angr cecum Leonis and the terete ones of A. Scot- 

 tianu?n are the most obvious deviations among the cultivated species. 



The inflorescence is usually racemose, but in Angrcecum fragrans, 

 A. Germinyanum, and a few other species not in cultivation, the 

 flowers are solitary. The racemes are few or many flowered, in the 

 latter case the arrangement of the flowers along the rachis is extremely 

 formal, being produced from the joints alternately and distichously and 

 also secund, that is, all turned towards the same side as in A. citratum, 

 A. ijertusum, etc. 



A peculiarity occurs in the few-flowered and in some of the many- 

 flowered racemes that must here be noticed ; the apical flower expands 

 first and the others follow in centripetal order, the lowermost flower 

 opening last, which is the reverse of what takes place in the racemes 

 of the best known genera in this sub-tribe. Moreover, the apical flower, 

 so far as this phenomenon has been observed by us, is the largest, 

 followed by a gradual diminution of size downwards {Angrcecum Ellisii, 

 A. modest um, A. sesquipedale, etc.). 



The generic name is a Latinised form of Angrek, the Malay name 

 for all orchids of the Aerides and Yanda habit of growth. The 

 number of species has been variously estimated from twenty-five 

 to sixty according to the views held by different botanists respecting 

 the circumscription of the genus. As defined in the Genera Plantarum 

 the number of the included species at present known to science may 

 be estimated at fifty. 



Geograiohical distribution. — Nearly one-half of the cultivated 

 Angraecums are natives of Madagascar, where they and other species 

 known to science form the most prominent feature of the Orchide^ 

 of that great island. Three remarkable species have been introduced 

 from the Comoro islands, a small group to the north-west of 



