284 



POPULAR GARDEN BOTANY. 



tions that on the same plant, and even on the same spike, 

 flowers of extremely different structures are found, — those of 

 several supposed genera and species produced on one plant. 

 The lip is in some instances so irritable that when the point 

 is touched by an insect, it makes a sudden revolution, and 

 imprisons the little creature as long as it moves, but when it 

 ceases to struggle the lip returns to its original position. 



This interesting tribe of plants abounds principally in the 

 hot, damp parts of the East and West Indies, Madagas- 

 car, and in Central America and Mexico, where they are in 

 profusion, not only seeking nourishment from the soil, but 

 clinging to the trunks of trees, or even to bare rocks, among 

 Ferns and other plants that love the shade of the damp forests 

 of these countries. They are however not confined to these 

 regions, but are seen in the northern and southern hemi- 

 spheres, and, as is well known, even in our own climate. 



A selection will be made of several interesting genera, 

 which can be cultivated in a moderately-heated house, with- 

 out any very extraordinary trouble; and a few remarks will 

 be added upon that class of Orchids called Epiphytes. 



ANCECTOCHILUS. 

 This genus is cultivated in the Orchid-house, principally 



