164 A FLORA OF MANILA 



32. ORCHIDACEAE ' (ORCHID OR Dapo Family) 



Terrestrial or epiphytic, usually succulent or fleshy herbs, the former 

 usually with thickened tuberous roots, the latter often with thickened bases 

 (pseudobulbs) , green, more rarely white and colorless or brownish sapro- 

 phytes, exceedingly variable in habit. Flowers very irregular, perfect, 

 rarely 1-sexual and monoecious. Perianth of 6 free or variously combined 

 parts, in two sets, the three outer (sepals) more or less alike, the three 

 inner (petals) dissimilar, 2 lateral ones alike, the tliird (lip or labellum) 

 very different in shape. Stamens and style united into a column opposite 

 the lip, the anther 1, rarely 2, on the front, or back of the column. Pollen- 

 grains usually cohering in 1 to 4 pairs of waxy or powdery, globose to 

 oblong masses (pollinia), in each cell. Ovary inferior, 1-celled; ovules 

 exceedingly numerous, on 3 parietal placentae. Fruit a 1-celled, 3-valved 

 capsule, containing innumerable, minute, almost dust-like seeds. 



Genera over 450, species about; 7,000, in all parts of the world, chiefly 

 tropical, about 77 genera and over 500 species in the Philippines. 



In the consideration of the Orchidaceae only those species growing 

 naturally within the area covered by this work have been included, no 

 attempt having been made to discuss the numerous forms brought in 

 from the provinces and cultivated; to include the latter would necessitate 

 a consideration of practically all the species with showy flowers found at 

 low altitudes in the Philippines, as well as many of the forms with small 

 and insignificant flowers. The presence of these cultivated plants in 

 Manila is dependent on a continued supply, which varies in quantity and 

 in number of species from year to year, so that a complete "orchid flora" 

 for Manila for one year might not closely apply to those species found 

 here in other years. 



As a rule only species that grow naturally in the Archipelago at low 

 altitudes can be successfully grown in Manila, thpse found above altitudes 

 of about 800 meters, usually soon dying when brought to sea level. The 

 common native name for all epiphytic orchids, the bulk of our species, is 

 dapo, but this name is applied to other epiphytic plants, such as species 

 of ferns growing as epiphytes, and even to parasitic plants, such as 

 Loranthus, etc. 



Among the more generally cultivated species are representatives of the 

 genus Dendrobium, such as .D. superbum Reichb. f., with large, somewhat 

 rank-scented, purple flowers from its leafless stems, flowering in February 

 and March, the flowers 5 to 6 cm long; D. heteroearpum Wall. {D. aureum 

 Lindl.) with yellowish flowers about 3.5 cm long, and D. taurinmn Lindl. 

 (Fl. Filip. pi. i29), with much-elongatgd stems, broad, elliptic leaves, and 

 large pink and purplish flowers. Phalaenopsis, species with green leaves 

 and large white flowers, P. amabalis Blume, and its variety aphrodite 

 Ames, locally known as "dapo mariposa," that is, butterfly-orchid: with 

 mottled leaves and large pink flowers, P. eehilleriana Reichb.^ f . ; and with 

 mottled leaves and white, purple-spotted flowers, P. .stuartiana Reichb. f., 



' For special papers on Philippine Orchidaceae, see Ames, 0., "Orchida- 

 ceae." 1 (1905), 2 (1908), 3 (1908), and in Philip. Journ. Set. A (1909) 

 Bot. 593-600: 663-676; 6 (1911) Bot. 35-56; 7 (1912) Bat. 1-27: 125-143. 



