282 THE ORCHID REVIEW. 
the Dutch in that colony. The Javan plant may be considered as the type 
of the species, being the one originally described by Blume. The variety 
guttata has been known ever since 1820, for Dr. Lindley states that he saw 
in Sir Joseph Banks’ library in that year a specimen in full flower that had 
been sent from the Royal Gardens at Kew. Ten years later a plant was 
presented to the Horticultural Society of London by Dr. Wallich, which 
flowered at Chiswick in 1831, since which period it has continuously 
been represented in British Orchid collections. 
A graphic account of the plant as seen in its native jungles in South 
India was communicated to The Garden in 1890 (xxxviii., p. 607) by 
J. L.,” who remarks:—‘‘In Malabar it mostly affects the jungle and 
marshy banks of sluggish-flowing rivers thick with trees of low stature and 
thorny undergrowth, composed of Solanum ferox, spiny acacias, and the 
like, where croak innumerable frogs, speaking eloquently of malaria, ague, 
and fever, and where crawls the deadly cobra, and where other reptiles and 
insects of strange appearance are abundant. In the midst of such sur- 
roundings, pendant from the branches of trees, may be seen the charming 
blooms of the Saccolabium (Rhynchostylis) spreading a fragrance around 
which compels the explorer to linger in the locality, even at the risk of 
subsequent attacks of jungle fever. Curiously enough the plants are never 
found in groups, but singly, with long distances between the individual 
plants. They come into flower during September and October, or 
immediately after the south-west monsoon rains cease, and from that date 
till the first spring flowers fall, in March or April, these epiphytes enjoy 
complete rest. They are throughout nearly the whole of this period of 
rest more or less protected from the east winds which prevail for so many 
months, and they are under the influence of dense fogs during the night and 
early morning. During the prevalence of the south-west monsoon, which 
is their growing season, the temperature rarely falls below 70° Fahr., that is 
when the sky is cloudy and the rain is pouring in torrents, perhaps for three 
or four weeks at atime. From the end of October till the end of April, the 
season of rest, the thermometer frequently falls in the night and early 
morning to 48° Fahr., so that the range of temperature under which they 
live in Southern India is considerable.” 
As regards culture, it may be added that the plant likes a position in 
the East Indian house, and succeeds in a teak basket, in which should be 
placed some largish pieces of broken crocks, with sphagnum moss between 
the interstices, and a surfacing of the same material. Abundance of water 
should be given during the growing season, but, when resting, only sufficient 
to keep the sphagnum alive. A healthy atmosphere is most important, as 
the plant makes an abundance of aerial roots, and care should be taken to 
keep the leaves clean and healthy. 
