OUTLINE OF THE ORCHID FLORA. 
Tuis great family is divided into two general classes, of which 
the first live upon trunks and branches of trees, on blocks of dry 
wood, and even on stones, receiving nourishment from the air. 
These are named Afiphytes, a Greek word signifying plants which 
grow upon other plants, but do not penetrate their substance or 
absorb their juices. The other general class, fewer in number, 
is named ¢errestrial, and comprises such as grow in and upon 
the soil, like vegetation generally. 
These two classes are distributed into seven orders or tribes, 
namely :— 
tst Tribe. MALaxE@: i. e. Softness or Waxy Softness. 
2 ace EpIpbENDRE&: Something growing wpon Trees. 
BY slain VANDEZ: Sanskrit for Mistletoe, or Tree Orchid. 
Ain. OpHRE#: The Hyebrows; referring to the ancient fash- 
ion of painting the eyebrows. 
iS thy ce ARETHUSE&: From the name of a nymph ‘of Diana, 
fabled to have been transformed into a fountain. 
Ghia Neorre£: A Bird’s Nest. : 
Pith CyPRIPEDEH: Venus’s Slipper. 
The most beautiful and valued of the whole great family of 
orchids are found in the first, second, third, and seventh tribes; 
and nearly all these are Epiphytes, excepting the Cypripedez. 
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