ORCHIDS. 



71 



profusely spotted with reddish-crimson. Sepals and 

 petals in the other flowers much longer, lanceolate- 

 acute, with waved edges, ground-colour in front 

 yellowish- green, nearly covered with large blotches 

 of reddish-brown, yellowish-white on the outside. 

 Lip very small, with a small beak* in front. Summer 

 and autumn months. Humid forests in Borneo. 



R. matutina. — This has both beautiful and singular 

 •flowers, for it does not require much imagination to 

 liken them to the harlequin in a Christmas panto- 

 mime. Leaves somewhat distant, narrow strap- 

 shaped, notched at the ends, deep green. Raceme 

 simple or panicle d, bearing numerous flowers of 

 extraordinary shape, bright scarlet, spotted and 

 barred with brown. Autumn months. Java. 



Restrepia. — A genus of small epiphytes, with 

 but few characters to distinguish them from their 

 near allies the Pleurothallis. They have slender 

 stems, which bear a single leaf, from the base of 

 which their curious flowers are produced. These 

 plants will succeed best in earthenware hanging 

 baskets, in peat and sphagnum, and should never be 

 dry. Peruvian House. 



R. antennifera. — This is the finest species yet in- 

 troduced ; whole plant about six inches high, stems 

 slender, bearing a single broadly-ovate, coriaceous, 

 dark green leaf. Peduncle one-flowered, the flower 

 being large and exceedingly curious. Dorsal sepals 

 long and narrow, yellowish- white, streaked with dull 

 purple; lower sepals large and broad, and joined 

 together to within a short distance of the points, 

 presenting the appearance of a large lip, ground- 

 colour deep reddish- crimson, thickly studded with 

 purplish-black dots. Petals small and narrow, 

 clubbed at the ends like the antennse of a butterfly. 

 Lip small, same colour as the lateral sepals. Sjuing 

 and summer months. Columbia. 



R. elegans. — Whole plant about three inches high, 

 leaves exactly oval, coriaceous, and deep green. 

 Flowers small, yellow, ornamented with regular 

 lines of purple spots. Petals antennae-like. It is 

 almost a perpetual bloomer. Mountains of Venezuela . 



R. Lansbergii. —"Whole piant about four inches 

 high. Flowers golden-yellow, ornamented with ir- 

 regular purple spots. Summer months. Guatemala 

 and Caraccas. 



R. vittata. — Plant about four inches high. Leaves 

 oblong-obtuse, dark green. Sepals and petals white, 

 spotted with bright rose. Lip yellow, striped with 

 rose. Summer months. Columbia. 



Rodriguezia. — A small genus of epiphytes, 

 named in honour of Emmanuel Rodriguez, a Spanish 

 physician and botanist. They are dwarf plants, and 

 should be grown in shallow hanging baskets, in 



peat and sphagnum moss. Water freely when 

 growing, and give them a season of rest with a short 

 drying. Brazilian House. 



R. secunda. — Leaves thin, plicate. Scape six to 

 nine inches or more long, bearing a one-sided 

 [seciind) raceme of bright red flowers, which are 

 very pellucid. It blooms during autumn and winter, 

 lasting long in beauty. West Indies. 



R. suaveolens. — This is not a show}- species, but it 

 deserves a place in every collection for its delicious 

 perfume. Pseudo-bulbs oblong compressed, and, 

 together with the leaves, pale green. Raceme dense, 

 flowers of a uniform light straw-colour. Winter 

 and spring months. Brazil. 



Saccolabium. — This genus of beautiful epi- 

 phytes derives its name from saccus, "a bag," on 

 account of the curious pouch of the labellum. They 

 are all natives of India and the Indian Islands. 

 Saccolabiums take rank amongst the very finest 

 members of the order; their stems are closely 

 furnished with leathery strap-shaped leaves, ar- 

 ranged in a distichous manner, from the axils of 

 which the flower-spike proceeds ; and although the 

 individual flowers are not large, they are produced 

 in very long and dense racemes, rendering them con- 

 spicuous. 



These plants require to be kept in strong heat and 

 moisture, and to be very carefully treated during 

 the resting season, if they are to retain their sym- 

 metrical appearance, for, although they undoubtedly 

 do get a severe shrivelling in a state of nature, it 

 does not improve their appearance from a cultivator's 

 point of view, for shrivelling of the foliage means 

 their destruction in many instances, and disfigure- 

 ment of the plant, and consequently loss of value : 

 therefore, in resting Saccolabiums, do not dry them 

 sufficiently to exhaust the fleshy leaves. They should 

 be grown in living sphagnum and nodules of char- 

 coal. The large-growing kinds require pot culture, 

 but the smaller ones (and there are numerous very 

 beautiful miniature species) thrive well in small 

 earthenware hanging baskets. East Indian House. 



S. ampullaceum. — A small-growing species, with 

 straight, strap-shaped, two-ranked leaves, some six 

 inches long, and deep green. The scape erect, bear- 

 ing a dense raceme of bright rose-coloured flowers, 

 which last long in beauty. There are several varie- 

 ties, the finest being Moulmeinense, a form from 

 British Burmah, which is a stronger grower. Leaves 

 spotted near the base with brown ; the racemes are 

 longer, and the flowers are larger and more intense 

 in colour. Spring months. Sylhet and Sikkim. 



8. Blumei. — Leaves long, distichous, mucronate at 

 the apex, and pale green, with several veins of 

 darker green running through their entire length. 



