[ 49 



ANGRyECUM HUMBLOTII 



Rchb. f. 



siformibus lato falcatis curvis subspithameis, pedunculis plurifloris racemosis 

 epalis lineari-triangulis acutis, linea mediana extus 



narkable twist about a third of the distan 

 i two are remarkably diverse. As the pla 



>, bracteis cucullatis subacutis amplis, ovariis pedicellatis 



petalis a basi multo latioribus triangulis acuminatis, labelli lamina oblonga 



obtusangulo-quadrata cum apiculo, seu obtusa, basi cucullata, calcari a basi 



extinctiformii ampla filiformi vulgo flexo, columna brevissima, polliniis in 



stipitibus 2 distinctis, glandulis squamiformibus distinctis. 



Angraecum Humblotii, Rchb. f. in Flora, LXVIII. (1885), p. 381 

 (in nota). 



AiiRANTHUS LEONIS, Rchb. f. in Gard. Chron, 1885, pt. I, p. 726; 

 id., 1885, pt. II., pp. 80, 81, figs. 17, 18 ; Warn. & Will. Orch. Album, V., 

 t. 213; Lindenia, I., p. 79, t. 37. 



Akranthus Leonii, Rchb. f. in Flora, LXVIII., p. 380. 



AngRjECUM Leonis, Veitch Man. Orch., pt. VII., pp. 133, 134, cum 



The remarkable orchid here figured is a native of the Comoro Islands, 

 whence it was introduced to cultivation by the intrepid French traveller, 

 M. Leon Humblot. Reichenbach first gave it the name of Angraecum 

 Humblotii, and he states that under this name specimens (presumably 

 dried ones) were exhibited at the International Horticultural Exhibition, 

 at Paris, in May, 1885, and deservedly awarded a Gold Medal. Afterwards, 

 on account of the glands of the pollinia being distinct, he placed the plant 

 in Aeranthus, and described it under the name of A. Leonis, since which 

 time the original name seems to have been quite lost sight of. In its 

 native home it is said to grow at 5,000 feet above sea-level. Its habit of 

 growth is peculiar. The leaves are distichous and cquitant— that is, flat- 

 tened laterally like those of an Iris, falcate, acute, and from 4 to 8 inches 



s-^gf long. The racemes are axillary, nearly as long as the leaves, and some- 

 times bear as many as seven flowers. These are waxy white, with the lip 

 uppermost, and the spur, which ranges from 5 to 7 inches long, has a 

 the species is allied to the well-known A. sesquipedale, Thouars, though in habit 



, it appears necessary to adopt its original name of A. Humblotii.— R. A. Rolfe. 



Of all the twenty or thirty species of this genus now known or grown in our gardens, our present plate represents, 

 perhaps, the most distinct of them all. Its peculiar habit of growth, and the profusion with which its flowers are borne 

 on its short axillary scapes or peduncles at once separates it from nearly all the choice Angrasca cultivated in our hot- 

 houses to-day. Our knowledge of these splendid orchids was, even if not originally due to Du Petit Thouars, at least 

 largely augmented by him in his " Histoire des Plantes OrchidCes de l'Afrique et des iles africaines," published at Paris 

 in 1822. Thouars' figures and descriptions of the orchids of Madagascar were, however, soon afterwards largely supple- 

 mented, so far as the genus under consideration was concerned, by our own countryman and missionary to that island (in 

 good Queen Emma's time), viz., the Rev. Wm. Ellis,* who introduced several of the finest species then known, including 

 A. sesquipedale, A. eburneum, E. Ellisii, and A. articulatum. These plants he grew in his garden at Hoddesdon, Herts., 

 and many an early English orchid grower made a special pilgrimage there to see these then wonderful new flowers and 

 their almost still more remarkable collector and owner. 



The genus Angraecum is essentially an African one, the finest species known being from the Islands of Mada- 

 gascar, France, Bourbon, and the Comoro group, whence last habitat came our collector's (M. Humblot) own beautiful 

 species. There is a wood engraving of our plant in the Gardeners Chronicle, July 18, 1885, at p. 81, showing a 

 spike of flowers from every leaf, of which there are eight or nine represented on the specimen selected for portraiture. 



The flower spikes are shorter than the Iris-like, fleshy, recurved leaves, and bear from three to eight flowers of a 

 glistening whiteness, with a soufcon of green that adds immeasurably to their purity. One great point in connection 

 with the flowers of this unique plant is their long-enduring qualities, for like those of Dendrobium Dearei and Cymbidium 

 Lown, they are almost too long lived ! The flowers are about 2 inches in diameter and glisten like ivory satin and in 

 form remind one a little of those of A. eburneum, but they are more delicate in texture, and there is a much longer spur 

 behind the labellum. This spur is from 5 to 8 inches in length, with a most peculiar twist or kink at about a third of its 

 entire length from the base. Knowing but little of the entomology of the Mascarene islands, we can only guess that this 

 peculiarity in the spur is meant to enhance the struggles of some nectar-hunting moth that secures the life of the species 

 by fertilising its flowers. In this connection we must remember the main facts, that all the species are white flowered 

 and nearly all are fragrant only, or most fragrant, at night-facts which point to nocturnal lepidoptera as beimr the 

 most likely fertilising agents. 



The generic name Angraecum is derived from the Malay word " Angrek," used as a common name for all orchids 

 having two-ranked or distichous leaves. Throughout the Malay Islands even we found this name << Angrek " is applied 

 to Vanda, Renanthera, Aerides, Saccolabium, &c, quite indiscriminately. 



Unique as is this splendid plant, and noble as is Mr. Ellis's A. sesquipedale, there are still in these tropical and 

 wind-swept islands off the African Coast other species that are, if possible, even more remarkable. Just as we write this 

 memoir there has come to hand an importation of a species little, if at all, less captivating than the best of those at present 



in cultivation. 



Our plate was taken from ; 



* See Ellis's " History of Madagascar." London, 1839. : 

 1 the collection of His Grace the Duke of Marlborough, Blenh 



Mo. Hot. Garden, 



1896. 



