46 THE ORCHID REVIEW. [ FEBRUARY, IQII. 
LALIA ANCEPS AT HOME. 
An enquiry has reached us as to the conditions under which the beautiful 
Lelia anceps grows ina wild state, and the following extract from an article 
by M. L. Kienast-Zolly, which appeared in 1887 (Gard. Chron., 1887, 1. 
pp- 413-414), may be interesting :— 
During my long residence in Mexico I have many a time found plants of 
Lelia anceps growing in my Coffee plantation, in the neighbourhood of 
Cordova, in the State of Vera Cruz. I always met with them on the 
borders of the virgin forests, growing on the trunks of trees and on the very 
slender branches, exposed to a powerful sun and to strong winds, often 
also clinging to the rocks covered with the remains of leaves and moss under 
the same conditions. During the rainy season—from May to October— 
these plants are daily drenched by the torrents of rain of which they 
experience the full force, often for five consecutive hours, and are thoroughly 
wet throughout the night. About 6 o’clock in the morning a sharp and 
fresh wind coming down from the highest peaks of the Cordilleras—-many os 
which are capped with perpetual snow—begins to dry the plants—a work 
which the burning sun completes, pitilessly shining on them for several 
hours, until the daily storm drenches them afresh. Under these conditions 
Lelia anceps grows with extraordinary vigour, and flowers about the end 
of October or November, just at the time when the new bulbs arrive at their 
perfect development. The rainy season has been over some weeks, and 
the absence of water, combined with the strong winds, commences to pro- 
duce an opposite effect; growth stops, the newest bulbs become firm, and 
ripened so as to prepare the plant for a thorough and necessary rest. 
About the end of February, from the base of the new bulbs are seen to 
appear six to ten or more new roots. It isat the time of the short rainy season 
—the chipichipi of the Indians, the Golden Rain of the Coffee planters—when 
very fine rain falls almost like a fog. These young roots eagerly seek the 
neighbouring débris and moss, but their tips are always in the air. The 
chipichipi does not saturate the plants, as it is too weak, and hardly able to 
refresh them: thus the plants rest, getting plenty of repose until the new 
roots, nourished by the continually increasing dew, have attained their full 
development. Then—in March—the new growth appears at the bases ot 
these latter bulbs. It is the time of awakening. 
Here is a fact which has often struck me: the bulbs of plants fully 
exposed to the sun are always large, hard, and of a reddish colour, the 
leaves leathery and broad; whilst those plants which grow more in the 
shade have longer and thinner bulbs and leaves. This may be noticed 
even in the same clump, when part of the bulbs are obliged to grow in the 
sun, and others in slight shade. 
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