PHALAENOPSIS. 657 



as directed for P. grandifoKus, is invaluable for exhibition purposes. For 

 further notice of these plants, see chapter on Preparing Orchids for Travelling 

 to Exhibitions. — India ; Syihet. 



T, . ^1?-— ''■'^«^^- PI- -1"«^- ^ay., ii. t. 158 ; Pasoton, Jlug. Sot, vi. p. 193, with tab. ; 

 Sot. Mag., t. 7023. ' j > y j 



PHALAENOPSIS, Blume. 



CJ'i'ibe Vandeae, suhtriie Sarcantheae.) 



A moderately extensive genus of epiphytes, the species of which are 

 not of very large growth, but the flowers of several of them are magnifi- 

 cent and last long in beauty. The genus has, moreover, received several 

 grand and meritorious accessions within the last few years, so that it is 

 much and deservedly esteemed, and worthy of a place in every collection, 

 no less for the attractions of its flowers than for the comparatively small 

 space which the plants occupy. The known species are all compact 

 handsome plants, without pseudobulbs, but emitting stout fleshy roots 

 from the crown, and also producing very thick distichous leaves, from 

 the axils of which the scapes of charming flowers arise. The flowers are 

 remarkably showy, with spreading sepals, much broader petals contracted 

 at the base, and a spurless lip spreading from the base and continuous 

 with the column, the disk and base of the lamina variously appendiculate. 

 The flowers themselves are tevj freely produced, and last a long time ; 

 indeed, they may be had in bloom all the year round. We have seen 

 P. gravdiflora blooming for six months, and have ourselves exhibited 

 the same plant for seven years at six exhibitions during each year, and 

 sometimes with as many as from seventy to eighty flowers expanded on 

 it at one time. Some of the species of Phalaenojpsis now in cultivation 

 are amongst the finest Orchids yet introduced to this country, and no 

 collection, however small, should be without an adequate number of 

 representatives of these lovely plants, which are free-flowering, and, as 

 we have already pointed out, continue for a long time in perfection — 

 qualities which proclaim them to be plants of more than ordinary value. 



There are two sections — Eivplialaenopsis, in which the petals are much 

 broader than the sepals, and the apex of the lip is emarginate or divided 

 into two divaricate or cirrhiferous lobes ; and Stauroglottis, in which the 

 petals and sepals are similar and the tip of the lip entire. The species 

 now number two dozen or more, and are found in the Malay Archipelago, 

 Philippine Islands, and in the eastern provinces of India. 



42 



