220 THE ORCHID REVIEW. [Sept.-Oct., rg18. 
had been brought in from the woods with a lot of miscellaneous iilies and 
ferns, and the exact locality could not be given. It was a small plant and 
did not flower that year, but last spring it looked so flourishing that it was 
divided. It has now produced a spike of seven flowers, and Mr. Powell 
sends three photographs, with the dried flowers, which prove to be those 
of P. grandifolius, Lour. In view of what has happened in Jamaica (which 
is mentioned below), it will be interesting if Mr. Powell can ascertain how 
far the species has established itself in Panama. 
The photographs show the entire plant, much reduced, and the spike on 
a larger scale. The spike is somewhat abbreviated, and, curiously enough, 
only one of the flowers sent is normal. Another has one petal missing, the 
other being reduced in size, curved, and united to the column at the base; a 
third has both petals missing, and a fourth consists of the lateral sepals and 
lip only. Two other flowers are sent, to show the column, and from these 
the petals are missing, and the lip has apparently been cut off just above the 
spur. It will be curious to see if future spikes regain their normal condition. 
Its presence in Jamaica as a naturalised species can be traced back at 
least to 1864, when Grisebach recorded it as found by two different 
collectors, adding ‘‘rare;’’ and in the recently published Flora of Jamaica, 
Fawcett and Rendle remark that it is completely naturalised and common 
in damp places insome parts of Jamaica, flowering throughout the years 
Seven localities are enumerated, and specimens from four of them are pre- 
served at Kew. We may also recall Dr. Shafer’s account in our own pages 
(O.R., xx. p. 77), that it has become completely naturalised there, and is 
now found in almost every part of the island. It also occurs in Cuba, and 
there is a specimen collected in marshes at Santa Anna, by Eggers, in 1889. 
The circumstances of its introduction to Jamaica are, we believe, not 
known, but it is believed to have been an escape from some garden, and its 
present abundance and wide diffusion are believed to be due to the facility 
with which the seeds are disseminated by wind, and to the freedom with 
which they germinate. The climate and soil are evidently suitable, 
and Mr. H. N. Ridley has informed us that during a recent visit he found 
it so abundant that it could be gathered by the armful. Its beauty a5¢ 
garden plant is well known, and one can readily imagine the effect of seeing 
it under the conditions above described. R.A.R. 
Siig ONE Ries 
GERMINATION OF BLETILLA HYACINTHINA.—Of Orchid seeds, that of 
Bletilla hyacinthina is certainly the most easy to raise. Is this because the 
species is independent of the fungus known as Rhizoctonia ? This was the 
opinion of M. Noel Bernard. If seeds are sown in pots of suitable compost 
and suspended near the roof glass, the seeds germinate well, and the seed- 
lings flower at about one and a half or two and a half years old. 
