AXD THE IK MAXAGEMENT. 475 



Stanhopea. 



single, stalked, leather}-, plaiteil, stout, green leaf. The 

 scape springs from the base of the matured pseudo-bulb, 

 and is invariabh^ pendulous ; it varies in length and in 

 the number of its flowers, and is clothed with conspicuous, 

 boat-shaped bracts, \\-hich are largest <ibout the flower- 

 stalks. The flowers are large, often bright-coloured and 

 spotted ; the sepals are large, broad, and spreading ; the 

 petals are similar but narrower, and usually thinner in 

 texture. The lip is large, flesh)- or wax-like in texture, and 

 very remarkable in structure ; the basal portion (hypochil) 

 is globose or boat-shaped, and hollow ; the intermediate 

 portion i.mesochil) varies in size and form, and nearly 

 always terminates in a pair of stift", horn-like lobes ; the 

 apex or front lobe epichil) is more like what is termed 

 the lip in Orchids generall}'. The column is large 

 and conspicuous, and is usually flattened or winged. The 

 species described are found only in Srmth and Central 

 America and Mexico. The genus is related to Aciiieta, 

 Catasetitin, and Corvantlu's. and, like them, it is remarkable, 

 even among Orchids, for the highly-specialised character 

 of the labellum of the flower. If we are struck by the 

 singular modification of form in that part of the flower 

 that is reall}- a petal though called a lip, in such genera 

 as Cattlcya, Odontoolossum, and P/iahciiopsis, how much 

 more may one wonder at Nature's provision to insure 

 cross-fertilisation in the flowers of the genera above named 

 and in Stanhopea! It would be impossible to find anything 

 more remarkable in the whole order of Orchids than the 

 lip of 5. eburnea or that of S. platyceras. 



The flowers are developed irregularl}-, according to the 

 treatment and growth of the plant ; as a rule, howex'er, 

 the species bloom in autumn. The only drawback Stan- 

 hopeas have, as garden plants, is the early fading of their 

 flowers, which rarelj' last a week, even under the most 

 favourable conditions. But the}- are wonderful objects when 

 at their best, and the}- are almost overpoweringly fragrant ; 

 whilst the plants are so easy to manage, and so rarely 

 fail to bloom, that the}' well deserve to be ranked with 

 first-class garden Orchids. 



Culture. — All the species should be grown in a stove 

 temperature. They are best planted in teak baskets 

 sufficiently large to afford space for a good layer of 



