DISA TRIPETALOIDES. 
[PLaTE 462. ] 
Native of the Cape of Good Hope. 
Terrestrial. Herbaceous, roots under ground in the shape of thick fleshy tubers, 
forming lax trailing branches, from which fresh bulbs are formed at intervals, 
and new roots and leaves appear annually. The Jeaves are arranged in the form 
of a rosette at the base, and are lanceolate, acuminate, somewhat coriaceous in 
texture, and of a shining green. Stem erect, clothed below with large alternate, 
sheathing, acuminate bracts, which, however, rapidly decrease in size upwards. 
attains a foot or eighteen inches in height, and bears a somewhat lax raceme 
of from fifteen to thirty flowers, each bloom measuring an inch across, the sepals 
being the portion of the flower most in evidence; dorsal sepal helmet-shaped, 
which terminates behind in a short conical spur; the lateral sepals are large 
for the size of the flower, oblong, rounded, all creamy white, flushed more or less 
Disa TRIPETALOIDES, N. E. Brown, Gardeners’ Chronicle, 3rd series, 1889, v. 
p. 360. Ibid, 1890, p. 766, with woodcut on p. 768 
ORCHIS TRIPETALOIDES, Linneus _fil. 
It is quite astonishing how rapidly the little terrestrial species of this family 
are becoming favourites with our Orchid-growing community, and it is within the 
past few days we have flowered a fine plant of the richly coloured Disa incarnata. 
We have already figured two of the small-flowered Disas in these pages—D. 
racemosa, t. 356, and D. grammnefolia, t. 399—and the present species is equally 
beautiful. This charming plant was first discovered by Thunberg, now more than 
a century ago, but we are indebted to Mr. James O’Brien for having introduced 
it to this country in a living state, where we trust it will long continue to 
find many admirers. This species of course cannot be compared with the large- 
flowered kind, D. grandiflora, which was so well grown by Mr. Owen Thomas, at 
Chatsworth, when gardener to His Grace the Duke of Devonshire; also by Mr. 
Vincent, gardener to the Comte de Germiny, at Gouville, near Rouen, France. 
There, are, however, quite a host of the smaller-flowered Disas and many other 
terrestrial Orchids well deserving better attention than has hitherto been bestowed 
upon them. Take for example the very bright Habenaria militaris, so finely 
grown by Mr. White at the residence of Sir Trevor Lawrence, Bart.; the 
Satyriwm aureum and other species so well grown and: exhibited by Mr. Seeger, 
of Dulwich; and the Orchis foliosa which we have grown and_ exhibited 
ourselves—all proving that these terrestrial plants can be as well grown as the 
