868 



LADRONES 



L^LIA 



northernmost of the group. The Ladroues lie in an 

 almost straight line north and south. Tliey were cap- 

 tured from Spain in July, IS'JS, and Guam was retained 

 by the United States chiefly as a coaling station. 



The Ladrones were discovered iu 1521 by Magellan 

 in the first voyage round the world. They were the 

 first islands in the Pacific to come into continuous 

 contact with European civilization. The aboriginal 

 race, the Chamorros, is extinct, and was replaced 

 chiefly by Tagals from the Philippines. These have 

 deteriorated. 



The chief settlement is Agana, on the island of Guam, 

 which contains a majority of the population of the 

 whole group. The Spaniards had but one mail a yo.-ir 

 between the Ladrones and the Philippines. 



The Ladrones are well wooded, but the original flora 

 has almost vanislied. None of the Pacific islands pos- 

 sesses any metal, or any native mammal, save a kind 

 of bat. 



Tlie Ladrones are said to have a more agreeable 

 climate than is common witliin the tropics. There is 

 moisture at all times, but a so-called "dry season" lasts 



LADRONE 



1222. Ladrones. 



from Jnne to Sept., during which time the northeast 

 trade winds prevail. The rainfall is in most places 

 abundant. The highest part of Guam is 1,500 feet above 

 the sea. 



The Ladrones have exported no fruit to speak of. 

 Cocoannts and bananas are perhaps the chief fruits. 

 Gnava figs and breadfruit grow well. Other products 

 are rice, sugar, indigo, arrow-root, cotton, tobacco, and 

 even wheat. 



One of the best recent accounts of the Ladrone 

 Islands is in Appleton's Annual Cyclopedia tor 1808. 

 For maps of the Ladrones, see Century Atlas, and 

 Overland Jlonthly 3:!:92. For references to recent lit- 

 erature, see the Cumulative Index of Periodical Litera- 

 ture. There is a book on the history of the Ladrones 

 written in .Spanish. It is an octavo of 210 pages pub- 

 lished at Granada in 188G, and entitled Historia de 

 las islas Marianas. The author is Luis de Ibanez y 

 Garcia. 



LADY'S EARDROPS. Short-flowered Fuchsias. L. 

 Garters. Pliahirix arundinaren , var. pirlii. L. Mantle. 

 Alchi'iniUii viilijdris. L. Slipper. Ci/pi-i/iediKins L. 

 Smock or Meadow Cress. Cardannue pratinisis . L. Tres- 

 ses. Spirannies. 



LffiLIA (meaning uncertain). Orchiddcew. A useful 

 and attractive genus of orchids, mostly with large, 



showy fls. borne singly or in 2- to many-fld. racemes, 

 which arise from the top of 1-2-lvd. pseudobulbs. The 

 plants greatly resemble Cattleyas, and differ only by the 

 presence of 8 perfect pollen masses instead of 4, as in 

 Cattleya. Lvs. oblong, coriaceous or fleshy, not plicate: 

 pseudobulbs terminating the annual growth, ovate, cla- 

 vate, fusiform or stem-like, long or short, consisting of 

 1 to several thickened internodes, or of slender and 

 ciuill-like form with merely a small bulbous swelling at 

 base, sheathed Avith sca'es and bearing 1 or 2 lvs. at 

 the summit : sepals subequal, free, spreading ; petals 

 wider and sometimes longer, spreading; all usually 

 plane: labellura free from the base of the column, more 

 or less distinctly 3-lobed, the lateral lobes short, erect, 

 folding over the column; middle lobe long, expanded, 

 lanceolate-ovate, etc.: column concave in front, and 

 thus narrowly 2-winged on the edges: pollinia 8, 4 in 

 each locale: scape terminal, long or short, bracted. 



The genus contains about 30 species, dispersed in the 

 maritime provinces of Mexico and Guatemala and in S. 

 Brazil. No species is common to the two widely sepa- 

 rated regions. A single species, L. monophy'lla, in- 

 habits the mountains of Ja- 



niaica. In their native homes 



the plants are often found 

 clinging to bare rocks and 

 trees, where they are exposed 

 to the full force of the tropi- 

 cal sun, and, in the wet sea- 

 son, to <iaily drenching rains. 

 Some of the species grow at 

 great altitudes. Thvis, L.au- 

 iKmitalts^Yar. fitrfunfcea, is 

 always found in alpine re- 

 gions at elevations of 7,500- 

 8,000 ft. For a list of culti- 

 vated kinds, see R. A. Rolfe, 

 G.C.1II.7: 107, 256,333,355; 

 and 8:241, 052. 



La?lia may be conveniently 

 divided into groups, as fol- 

 lows: 



Group I (species 1-10).- 

 Pseudobulbs rounded, pyri- 

 form or ovate. The plants 

 of this section are medium- 

 sized, with the psendobnibs 

 ternjinating each year's 

 growth sessile at intervals 

 on the rhizome, and sheathed 

 at least at first with bract 

 leaves. The scape, except in 

 ly. grandinora , is long and 

 slender, erect, nodding or 

 sub-horizontal, and bears at 

 its end 1 or 2 fls. {L. nnceps), or a raceme of 2-7 fls. 

 {L. alhida). L. r/randifhra, placed here on account of 

 its thickened pseudobulbs, bears greater resemblance to 

 the members of the nest group. 



Gkoup II (species 11-13). — Pseudobulbs short-cylin- 

 drical, stem-like, or swollen jointed, i. e., consisting of 

 several internodes and sheathed with bracts. These 

 plants are of dwarf habit, bearing 1-2 very large fls. 

 on short scapes, so that the top of the flower scarcely 

 exceeds the lvs., which are oblong, about in. long, and 

 leathery. 



Group III (species 14-23). — Pseudobulbs long-oblong, 

 fusiform or clavate. tapering below to a sheathed and 

 jointed stalk. This group contains the largest and most 

 showy Ltelias. The pseudobulbous stems are tall and 

 tufted, a foot or more in length, forming robust, com- 

 pact, almost bushy plants. 'The flowering stems of L. 

 superbiens are said to attain a height of 12 ft. The ra- 

 cemes bear 3-7 large, handsome flowers. 



Group IV (species 24-20). Pseudobulbs slender,'reed- 

 like and tufted, clothed with scales and often somewhat 

 swollen at base. This group includes a few species 

 which are very distinct on account of their bright scar- 

 let or orange-colored fls. and slender, reed-like pseudo- 

 bulbs. L. moimpJii/Jla is perhaps the smallest of all 

 Lfelias, being scarcely over in. high, with pseudobulbs 

 about as thick as a crow-quill. One variety of L. cinna- 

 barilla has purple Hs. 



