AERIDES VANDARUM. 



[Plate 116.] 



Native of India 



Epiphytal. Stems terete, flcxnose, rooting, clothed with the slieathing hnpos of tli 





leaves, growing two feet or more in height, of a purplish bruwn colour. Lea 

 distant, harsh in texture, four to six inches long, as thick as the stem, suhulato, torpfc 

 narrowed to an acute point, wdth a narrow furrow on the u])por side, evei-'^tcti. 

 'Peduncle lateral, opposite the leaves, one or two flowered. Flowers rather large, 

 delicate but durable, white; sepals spreading, the dorsal one llgidalo willi a stnlk- 

 liko base, the lateral ones subcrcnulatc united to the foot of the (toliinui, the 

 margins always undulated; petals obovate cuneate, undulated; lip tripartite, the 



lateral (basal) divisions linear-falcate, toothletted, the middle one deeply two-lobud, llio 

 lobes reniform, concave, crenate narrowed at the base into a claw, with a small toothid 

 segment on each side and a sharp keel between ; spur extinijuishcr-formcd. Column 

 short, wingless. Pollen-masses two. 



Aeeides Vandaeum, Reichenhach fil., in Gardeners* Chronicle, 18G7, 997. 



Aeeides cylindeicum, Hooker, Botanical Magazine, t. 4982, iion Lliidlt-y; 

 Gardeners' Chronicle, n.s., iii, 537, fig. 115. 



Tliere is no doubt that the species of Aerides rank among the most beautiful 

 of the East Indian Orchids. The one we now introduce to tlic notice of our 

 readers is very distinct in its manner of flowering, and also in its foliage, the 

 general aspect of the plant being much like that of Vanda teres, whence the 

 name given it by Professor Eeichenbach of Aerides Vandarum. The fl'nvers are 

 large and the manner of its growth makes it a very interesting subject. Few 

 cultivators, ho^vever, have seen^it in blossom. Our artist took a sketch last ^Maivh 

 from a plant blooming at the Victoria and Paradise Nurseries, where it flowered for 

 several weeks. 



Aerides Vandarum, i^ an evergreen species and grows about two feet in In-ight. 

 The foliage is terete and acutely pointed, like that of a small growing Vanda 

 teres and the stem is of a purplish brown colour. It produces two fhnvers on a 

 spike, and these are of a pure, white colour; it blooms in March and April 

 lasts three weeks in perfect 



an 



This plant requires the heat of the East India house, with all the light 



possible. It will thrive in pots or baskets with sphagnum moss, or even on rafts 

 of wood, but when grown on these it requires more frequent supplies of moisture. 



