﻿July, 1904] THE ORCHID REVIEW. 219 



damping down is performed not less than three times a day. About four 

 o'clock in the afternoon the top ventilators are closed, and the bottom ones 

 partially so, the plants at the same time being well syringed overhead, 

 The Laelia aneeps and other short bulbed Mexican Laelias are growing 

 apace, and must now receive plenty of water as, being exposed more to the 

 sunlight, and having so much air, they soon become dry. 



THE GENUS ACORIDIUM. 



For a long period it was doubtful what the genus Acoridium could 

 represent. It was described by Nees and Meyen in 1843 (Nov. Act. Nat. 

 Cur., xix, Suppl. i, p. 131), from fruiting specimens gathered by Meyen at 

 Manila. The single species was called Acoridium tenellum, and it was 

 supposed to belong to the small order Philydraceae. In 1843 Endlicher 

 placed it as a doubtful genus at the end of Burmanniaceae (Mant. Gen. PL, 

 Suppl. iii., p. 59), and in 1879 Bockler transferred it to Cyperaceae, as a 

 genus between Scirpus and Eleocharis. In 1883 Bentham enumerated it 

 at the end of Cyperaceae as a quite doubtful plant (Gen. PL, iii., p. 1043). 

 Some years ago Mr. C. B. Clarke was studying the Cyperaceae of the Berlin 

 Herbarium, and among them found the type specimen of the doubtful 

 plant, which he saw did not belong to Cyperaceae, and when he showed it 

 to me I instantly recognised it as a plant which Naves had referred to 

 Ceratostylis gracilis, Blume (Blanco Fl. Filip., ed. 3, Nov. App. p. 245). 

 It had been collected on Mt. Maquiling, at 3,000 feet altitude by Senor Vidal. 

 That it was an Orchid was certain, but being without flowers there was a 

 little doubt as to the genus. More recently Loher again collected it in the 

 province of Benguet, in fruit, at Naguliang, at about 4,500 feet elevation, 

 and also at Mariveles. The two latter being in flower enabled its position 

 to be determined, and it proved identical with Platyclinis. On 

 searching to find if it had received any other name, I found a description by 

 Reichenbach of Dendrochilum junceum (Otia Bot. Hamb., p. 54) which 

 evidently represents the same species. This was collected at Banos, by 

 Wilkes, and at Mahahai, by Wallis. It, however, is not a Dendrochilum, 

 but belongs to Platyclinis, which now proves to be ante-dated by Acoridium 

 by nearly forty years. It is unfortunate that its identity was not discovered 

 earlier, for it now disturbs the nomenclature of some thirty odd species. 

 The following are already known :— 



A. abbreviatum (Dendrochilum abbreviatum, Blume). Java. 



A. auritum (Dendrochilum auritum, Blume). Java. 



A. arachnites (Dendrochilum arachnites, Rchb. f.). Philippines. 



A. Barbifrons (Platyclinis barbifrons, Kranzl). Sumatra. 



A. bistortum (Platyclinis bistorta, Wendl. et Krarizl.). Malaya. 



