ONCIDIUM ANTHROCRENE. 
[PLATE 392. ] 
Native of New Grenada, 
Epiphytal. Pseudobulbs four inches or more high, oblong, compressed, much 
furrowed, deep green. Leaves in pairs from the apex of the pseudobulbs, oblong- 
acute, carinate beneath, some six or eight inches long, and one-and-a-half inches 
wide, very dark green. Scape erect, sometimes branched, many-flowered. Flowers 
large and showy, measuring from two-and-a-half to three inches across; 
a broad spot of brown at the base in front of the crest. 
ONCIDIUM ANTHROCRENE, Reichenbach f., in Linnea, 1877, xli., p. 102; 
Williams, Orchid Grower's Manual, 6 ed., p. 474. 
Oncidium is a very large genus, and it contains many small-flowered plants 
which have no claims to a position in the ALBum; but it is a very great pity that 
the Refugium, which was so ably conducted by the late William Wilson Saunders, of 
Reigate, should not be continued for such species. On the other hand, however, 
this genus contains many large-flowered and showy kinds, which rank amongst the 
most beautiful of Orchids, and many of these charming kinds have appeared in 
former volumes of this work, whilst many more are waiting to appear. These 
showy kinds are among the most decorative plants in our Orchid houses, and by 
a selection of kinds, some may be had in flower during the whole year. They 
are for the most part easily grown, and flower freely annually, but yet they require 
care and attention after their flowering season is past, this being one of the main 
points in the cultivation of Orchids, for if strong and vigorous growth be not 
obtained, flowers in due season cannot be expected. The species here introduced 
to our readers is a most distinct and attractive one, at the same time it is 
one not often seen, but it well deserves the attention of every one desirous 
of forming an interesting and diversified collection. It is these diversified groups of 
plants that attract the attention of non-cultivators of Orchids, their bright and 
wonderful combination of colours, their grotesque forms, and in many instances their 
powerful and grateful odour, giving rise to wonder and surprise to a far greater 
extent than the gorgeous display made by a house full of Cattleyas or Lelias, or 
Odontoglossums, or any other one genus, magnificent as these plants are. It 
requires an admixture of beautiful kinds nicely arranged and grouped to enlist the oS 
