4 FHE -ORCHID REVIEW. [JANUARY, 1923. 
TLETONE HOOKERIANA. 
Y the death of Mr. H. J. Elwes, which took place on November 26th, 
1922, the horticultural world has lost one of its greatest enthusiasts. 
He travelled in many countries, both in Asia and America, and enriched 
our knowlege of plants considerably, not only with careful notes, but with 
actual specimens. Orchids never missed his attention, and Pleiones were 
special favourites with him on account of their delicate beauty and the 
small amount of space they occupy in a greenhouse. 
The genus Pleione was established by Don in 1825. Lindley soon 
afterwards reduced it to Ccelogyne, but subsequently wished to keep it 
apart, and in 1852 remarked, ‘ The habit of these plants is so peculiar that 
it seems desirable to separate them from Ccelogyne, if any character can be 
found, and we think the membranous bracts, and strongly saccate lips with 
purple veins, of Pleione may be taken to offer a sufficient distinction.” 
P. Hookeriana was discovered in 1849 by Sir J. D. Hooker, in the 
Sikkim Himalayas at 7,000-10,000 feet elevation, where the small globular 
pseudobulbs are buried in moss growing on rocks, or on the branches of 
trees, and are difficult to find when at rest. But it was not until 1876, or 
the following year, that it was introduced to English gardens by Mr. H. J. 
Elwes, who cultivated it with continuous success at Colesborne, Gloucester- 
shire. Our reproduced photograph, showing P. Hookeriana in full flower, 
is especially interesting as the plants are believed to be descendants of the 
first one sent to England. 
In April, 1914, Mr. Elwes found P. Hookeriana on the Singalelah range 
at g,000-11,000 feet elevation, and at a greater height than any other 
epiphytic Orchid he knew of in the Himalaya. Though often exposed to 
to-15 degrees of frost, and covered with snow for a few days at a time, the 
plants require such a damp atmosphere all through the growing season that 
it is useless attempting their cultivation out of doors. 
In the variety brachyglossa, which flowered in the collection of Sir 
Trevor Lawrence in 1887, the lip is shorter and more open than in the 
type, white with a yellow disc on which are some brown spots. In the 
Burford collection, these plants, along with P. humilis and P. Reichen- 
bachiana, were found to thrive best when cultivated in pans suspended 
in the cool atmosphere of the Odontoglossum house. 
Pleiones are not difficult subjects to cultivate, so long as their require- 
ments are attended to. As soon as the flowers have faded, roots will be 
produced from the new shoots, and the work of adding additional compost 
or entirely fresh material should then be carried out. Ample drainage 
should be provided by placing several inches of crocks in the bottom of the 
pots, or a less quantity if shallow pans are used. A layer of moss should 
