62 ORCHIDS 



Aspasia. 



keep the pseudo-bulbs in a plump state. The following 

 are some of the best-known species in cultivation : 



A. lunata {LindL). — Flowers green, white, and brown, 

 solitary ; sepals and petals linear obtuse, spreading ; lip three- 

 lobed, lateral lobes short, middle one flat, nearly square, wavy. 

 Pseudo-bulbs oblong, two-edged. Height ift. Introduced from 

 Rio Janeiro in 1843. 



A. odorata {Hart.). — Sepals and petals white, with brown 

 spottings ; lip with violet centre. Native of Brazil. 



A. principissa (Rchb.f.). — Flowers over 2in. across; sepals and 

 petals light green, lined with brown ; lip light buff, broadly 

 pandurate, almost an inch long, with two parallel tubercles at 

 the base. Introduced from Central America in 1888. An 

 interesting species, with Odontoglossum-like flowers. 



BARKERIA {Kii. and JVesU.). This genus is now included 

 under Epidendrum. 



BARTHOLINA. 



A monotypic genus of the tribe OphiydecB, from South 

 Africa, the species, B. pectinata, or Spider Orchid, being 

 terrestrial. It should be grown in a cool greenhouse ; the 

 remarkably small tubers are best accommodated in a 

 compost consisting of fibrous peat, loam, and leaf-soil, 

 with sufficient rough sand to render the compost porous. 

 During active growth the plants require an abundance of 

 root moisture. Overhead syringing in bright weather will 

 also be beneficial. During the resting season little water 

 will be required — only sufficient, in fact, to maintain the 

 tubers in a plump condition. The name is a compli- 

 mentary one of Robert Brown's to Thomas Bartholin, a 

 famous seventeenth century physiologist. 



B. pectinata {R. .5'^.).— The flowers, which are of a pale lilac, 

 are 2in. to 3in. across the numerous spreading comb-like threads 

 into which each segment of the three-parted lip is divided ; sepals 

 erect; petals straight or falcate; scape 3in. to 4in., and reddish- 

 brown. They are produced in July. The leaves are solitary, 

 orbicular, ^in. to lin. in diameter, convex, deeply two-lobed, lying 

 flat on the ground. Tuber ovoid, ^in. long. Introduced in 1787° 

 (B. M., t. 7450.) ■ " 



