278 THE ORCHID REVIEW. 
represents the stately appearance of the original. For this species is no 
less remarkable among Orchidaceous plants for its structure, than for its 
large and copiously flowered spike. 
‘“ Being unable to find any genus of the Orchidee which corresponds 
with it, I have ventured to give it a generic name significant of the dove- 
like appearance of the column of fructification.” 
It is probable that there is some mistake in the above locality. The 
habitat, ‘‘ Panama,” does not seem to have since been confirmed, and it is 
probable that Truxillo in Venezuela, opposite to the south-east corner of 
the Maracaybo Lagoon, not Truxillo in Peru, is the place intended, 
and that the plant was really collected in the vicinity, It is to 
be noted that at this very spot, at an altitude of 6,000 feet, Wagener 
subsequently collected the plant, and it is very likely that Sir William 
Hooker himself added the words “‘in Peru,” knowing that there was a place 
of that name there. Purdie also collected the plant ‘‘on dry ridges” at 
Muzo, in the province of Santander, Colombia, nearly six hundred miles 
south-west of Truxillo. Seemann does not include it in the list of plants 
collected on the Isthmus of Panama, and although he mentions it in his 
introduction (Bot. Herald, p. 71) itis clearly only a reference to pre-existing 
records, which in face of the above facts must rank as doubtful. The above 
seems to be practically all that is recorded about its habitat. 
It is a very remarkable plant, but we do not remember to have often 
met with it in Orchid collections. Messrs. Veitch, however, in their Manual 
(ix., p. 128) remark :—‘ Like Phaius grandifolius, Dendrobium nobile, and 
other popular kinds, it is one of the few Orchidaceous plants generally 
cultivated in the stove without being especially associated with other 
Orchids, its stately habit and curious, fragrant flowers rendering it popular 
among amateurs who possess the needful accommodation for its culture.” 
And they add the following cultural note :— 
‘ Peristeria elata is usually potted early in spring in a compost of two 
thirds well-rotted turfy loam, and one-third fibrous peat, with the addition 
of some thoroughly decomposed cow-manure. Ample drainage should be 
secured by broken crocks to about half the depth of the pot, and the 
compost filled in above this to within half an inch of the rim. The pseudo- 
bulbs should be placed on the surface of the compost, which should then be 
covered with Sphagnum moss. When growth commences, the plants should 
receive a liberal supply of water, which should be continued till the large, 
new pseudobulbs are mature; the supply may then be diminished to so 
much as is sufficient to prevent the pseudobulbs from shrinking during the 
winter months. As much air and light as is safely practicable should be 
afforded at all seasons, shading being used only during the earliest stages of 
growth, and on hot, bright days, to prevent the foliage being scorched. 
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