74 THE BOOK OF ORCHIDS 



Grammatophyllum 



The typical species, G. speciosa, is a giant among 

 Orchids, the thick growths being from six to seven feet 

 long. The racemes are over seven feet in length and 

 carry over seventy flowers, each bloom being about five 

 inches in diameter. A large specimen in the Botanic 

 Garden, Penang, under the care of Mr Curtis, measures 

 over forty-two feet in circumference. Its flowering 

 under artificial cultivation has been a rare occurrence, 

 and the recorded instances are few. It first flowered in 

 a perfect condition at Nonsuch Park, Surrey, in 1 859. 

 Many years after it flowered well at Leigh Park, and 

 again at Burford in 1 897. There are at the time of 

 writing two fine spikes on the enormous specimen in 

 the Royal Gardens, Kew. The plant requires the 

 highest temperature available in our houses, and should 

 be grown in sandy peat and leaf soil, water being freely 

 given when in full growth. The primary roots of this 

 plant are stout and fleshy, and from these arise a dense 

 plexus of small prickly roots that spread over the sur- 

 face of the compost. At the end of the growing season, 

 these secondary roots die off, when the plant should be 

 kept rather drier at the root. G. multiflorum, G. Fenzli- 

 anwn, and its superior variety, Measnresiana, should be 

 grown in teak-wood baskets and suspended close to the 

 roof of the warm house, where they will be enabled to 

 make sound, enduring growth. G. Ellisii, now known 

 as a Grammangis, is a beautiful and distinct species, 

 which unfortunately does not readily conform to our 

 artificial treatment. It thrives best in the Cattleya house 

 during summer and in the East India house in winter, a 

 high-and-dry position near to the roof glass being selected. 

 Its flower spikes come up from the base of the young 

 growths, and before these spikes appear very careful 

 watering is necessary, as the new growths are extremely 



