Septum i 
r , 1921.! 
THE ORCHID REVIEW'. 
8* 
GRAMMATOPHYLLUM SPECIOSUM. 
71 GIANT Orchid, indeed, is Grammatophyllum speciosum, for a 
-mI specimen brought down from Malacca to Singapore weighed, with* 
the portion of the tree on which it grew, three quarters of a ton. It is- 
usually to be seen growing on trees at no great height from the ground,- 
frequently near streams, but when the tree has fallen it continues to flourish 
and grow well on the ground. At Peradeniya it was always treated as an' 
epiphyte until 1896, when it was removed to a specially prepared mound of 
turf, decayed manure, charcoal, broken bricks and laterite stones, with the 
result that it flowered well twelve months later. In 1907, this plant 
consisted of about 70 stems pseudo-bulbs, each bearing a hundred or more 
ribbon-like leaves from 20 to 30 inches long. No less than 26 racemes were 
produced, each bearing upwards of 100 flowers. Thus this wonderful plant 
carried nearly 3,000 flowers. 
A photograph of the above specimen is reproduced in the Gardeners' 
Chronicle , August 31st, 1907, with an accompanying note from Mr. Hugh 
A. MacMillan, the curator of the Botanical Gardens, Peradeniya, who- 
remarks: “ It is obviously a great effort on the part of the plant to produce 
at one time so enormous a crop, and it is not surprising that the specimen 
does not repeat the process every year. From the first appearance of the 
spikes above ground to the visible setting -of the first fruit occupies about 
four months, and two months more are required to ripen the stout pod-like 
fruits. The minute, brown seeds are produced in great quantity, but 
hitherto these have not found at Peradeniya conditions necessary to their 
germination, even though afforded artificial aid.” 
In 1893, Messrs. Sanders presented a fine plant to Kew. It flowered 
well in the autumn of 1907, and is described in the Gardeners' Chronic\e r 
October 12th, 1907, by Mr. C. P. Raffill, who states: “ The plant is- 
growing on a raft, on a mound of compost consisting chiefly of peat, moss- 
and sand. In previous years the practice has been to lower the base of the 
compost into the Lily tank to a depth of .4 to ; 5 inches during the summer 
months, and to raise the plant again for the winter. This spring the plant 
was kept out of the water altogether, and only given water when the 
compost showed signs of becoming dry. It is interesting to record the fact 
that formerly during the summer months, when the plant was kept very 
wet at the roots by partial submersion, aerial, spiny roots were produced 
in such numbers as to completely cover the surface of the compost. Very 
few, on the contrary, have been produced this season, those which have 
been formed arising very near the bottom, and consequently the wettest 
part of the ball. In the Peradeniya Gardens, where this species is grown as^ 
an ordinary terrestrial plant, these erect, aerial roots are not produced at ali 
