■':^-j, 



Plate 181. 



GEAMMATOPHYLLUM SPECIOSUM 



r" 



Bliowy GramMatophyllum, 



> •' 



Gen. Char. {Vide supra, Plate 176.) 



% 



Grammatophyllum speciosum; scapo multifloro pseudobulbisque longissimlsj foliis disticliis patcnti- 



recurvis basi dilatatis equitantibus, bracteis lierbaceis, sepalis petalisquc patentisFi'mis Ptib- 



obovato-oblongis undulatis obtusissimis, labelli lobis obtusis intermcdio rnbro-lincnto, lincis 

 ciliatis. 



GEAMMATOPHYLLUM speciosTim. Bl. Bijdr. p. 377. lAndl Gen. et 8p. OrcUd.p. 173. Bl. Fumphut, 

 V. i.p. 47. t. 191. Faxt. FL Gard. t. 69 {imperfect specimen). 



Great was the surprise of botanists and horticiiltnrists when the first linowlc()g(* 

 of this gigantic Orchideous plant was placed before the European public in tlie 

 'Rumphia' above quoted, and expectations were not disappointed when the h'\ing 

 P^^nt was introduced by the late Messrs. Loddiges, and at lengtli flowered, though 

 imperfectly, in their stoves at Hackney in 1852, when the figure above quoted \\:i^ 

 published in Paxton's ' Flower Garden.' 



The more perfect specimen now before us flowered in the collection of the late 

 ^y* ^- Farmer, Esq., of Nonsuch Park, Ewell, in October, 1859. It was taken from a 

 plant of which the old pseudobulbs, or stems, were from nine to ten feet long, and the 

 ^m six feet, throwing out its noble flowering scape from the base. The species n a 

 ^ative, Blume tells us, of Java and other islands in the Indian Ocean (Mr. Fm ayson 

 ^^tected it in Cochin China), and from its vigorous vegetation, and the remarkable m.. 

 of the flowers, it presents a majestic appearance, quite unrivalled among Orch.deons 

 P^^^ts. It requires the constant heat of the East Indian house; but it is a sUy 

 ^o^erer, and the great space necessary for its cultivation is another serious ^^ '.\ 



^^^cu. Stems, or pseudohdhs, clustered, erect, five to eiglit and ten feet mg i, 

 ^^reti-compressed, striated below, and a few, large, apprcssed scales there tnke im 

 Pi^^e of leaves. These latter occupy the rest of the stem, and are distichous, one and 

 ^^If to two feet long, from a broad, sheathing, equitant base, lorate, acute, con 



