ORCHIDS. 



51 



than mosses, while the large Grammatophyllums of 

 Borneo, which grow in the forks of trees, form a mass 

 of leafy stems ten feet long, and some of the terrestrial 

 species — as the American Sobralias — grow erect to an 

 equal height. The fleshy aerial roots of most species 

 give them a very peculiar aspect, as they often grow 

 to a great length in the open air, spread over the surface 

 of rocks, or attach themselves loosely to the bark of 

 trees, extracting nourishment from the rain and from 

 the aqueous vapour of the atmosphere. Yet notwith- 

 standing the abundance and variety of orchids in the 

 equatorial forests they seldom produce much effect by 

 their flowers. This is due partly to the very large pro- 

 portion of the species having quite inconspicuous flowers ; 

 and partly to the fact that the flowering season for each 

 kind lasts but a few weeks, while different species flower 

 almost every month in the year. It is also due to the 

 manner of growth of orchids, generally in single plants or 

 clumps which are seldom large or conspicuous as compared 

 with the great mass of vegetation around them. It is only 

 at long intervals that the traveller meets with anything 

 which recalls the splendour of our orchid-houses and 

 flower-shows. The slender-stalked golden Oncidiums of 

 the flooded forests of the Upper Amazon ; the grand 

 Cattleyas of the drier forests ; the Caelogynes of the 

 swamps, and the remarkable Vanda lowii of the bill 

 forests of Borneo, are the chief examples of orchid- 

 beauty that have impressed themselves on the memory 

 of the present writer during twelve years' wandering 

 in tropical forests. The last-named plant is unique 

 among orchids, its comparatively small cluster of leaves 

 sending out numerous flower-stems, which hang down 



