THE ORCHID GENERA 35 



and rooting freely, they require plenty of root moisture, 

 but when at rest very little is necessary. 



Arachnanthe 



Two of the most remarkable Orchids, unfortunately 

 but now seldom seen in our gardens, are Arachnanthe 

 Cathcartii, and A. Lowii, perhaps better known under the 

 older name of Vanda, to which they are closely allied. 

 The first mentioned species is a native of the hot, damp, 

 shady valleys in the eastern Himalaya. A. Lowii is from 

 the low, swampy forest near the coast of Sarawak. Its 

 flowers are borne at regular distances on flexuous spikes, 

 which are often twelve feet long. It is the appearance of 

 the inflorescence itself that arrests attention, there being 

 two kinds of flowers on the same raceme. The two or 

 three lowermost are rather larger than the others, and 

 are of a bright orange dotted with red purple, while 

 all the others are deep chocolate brown, bordered and 

 streaked with yellow. A. Cathcartii should be trained to 

 an upright raft made of teak, and placed in a damp posi- 

 tion in the East Indian house. It requires constant 

 syringing overhead. When the roots have entwined 

 themselves around the teak wood, the plant will need no 

 further training. Naturally the growth will bend itself 

 towards the light and eventually droop over. The 

 plant will then have attained its flowering size. It is 

 from this species that the generic name Arachnanthe 

 was derived, which means a " spider flower," owing to 

 the fancied resemblance of the markings on the flower 

 to the cob-web of a spider. A. Clarkei is also a very 

 fine species, and well worthy of culture. Arachnanthes 

 require a hot moist temperature always. 



Arpophyllum 



Arpophyllum giganteum and A, spicatum are well-known 

 as belonging to a small genus with slender pseudo bulbs, 



