VANDA AMESIANA. 



[Plate 296.] 



JSPative of tlie East Indies. 



Epiphytal. Stem terete, producing numerous thick fleshy roots at the base. 

 Leaves distichous, ligulate acuminate, channelled above, rounded beneath, thick and 



mor 



fleshy in texture, and deep heavy green in colour. Scape erect, a foot or 

 high, dotted with brown, and furnished with a few distinct, appresscd, acuminate 

 bracts. Raceme ten to twelve flowered. Flowers somewhat resembling Phalcenopsis 

 Lowii in general outline, deliciously fragrant, about an inch and a half across, 

 footstalks white, nearly two inches . long ; sepals and petals spreading, nearly equal, 

 cuneate oblong, obtuse acute, creamy white, faintly tinged with flesh colour, passing 

 into yellow with age ; lip three-lobed, side lobes small, erect and nearly square, 

 same colour as the petals, middle lobe reniform, slightly lobed in front, rich rosy 

 magenta,' bearing three thickened lines, and a small rounded callosity on the disc, 

 denticulate round the edge ; spur short, conical and compressed. 



Vanda Amesiana, Reichenhach fil., in Gardeners' Chronicle, Third Series, ii., 

 p. 764, 1887. 



This charming new and distinct-OTowinof Yanda was introduced from India, some 



Q ^^,, ^^^ ^.^^^^v.^ ^^v.,,^..^ 



few 3^ears since, by Messrs. Hugh Low & Co., of Clapton ; it came amongst a 

 qnantity of other Orchids, and although it was at once recognised by them as 

 something different, it was not till the spring of the present year that its great 

 beauty and novelty became apparent, adding another species to the long record of 

 new Orchids which have been introduced to the Clapton Nurseries. As soon as it 

 bloomed th e Messrs. Low were kind enough to allow our artist to make a drawing 

 of it, and thus we are enabled to lay before our readers the portrait of this unique 

 and beautiful plant. 



The love for Vandas, we are glad to find, is largely on the increase, and 

 deservedly so, as there are few plants more ornamental, even when not adorned 

 with their l6vely and fragrant blooms, than are the various forms of Vanda tncolor 

 and F. suavis amongst the larger-growing kinds, whilst many of the smaller kinds, 

 although less majestic in appearance, have few equals for the beauty of their flowers. 

 There are, we believe, many more species yet to be found in the various islands 

 scattered throughout the Indian Seas, which we hope soon to see adorning the 



rich collections of orchidaceous plants which now exist in this and other countries, 



Vanda Amesiana is a dwarf-growing evergreen and free-flowering species ; the 



• leaves are arranged in a two-ranked manner, strap -shaped, grooved on the upper 

 side, and rounded beneath, gradually tapering to a fine point ; they are thick and 



