CYPRIPEDIUMS, 



57 



CYPRIPEDIUMS. 



These are all beautiful in foliage as well as in flower, 

 and are worth a place in every collection. They are of 

 easy culture, and require but little space ; the form of the 

 flowers is curious, being that of a slipper — they are generally 

 called the Lady's Slipper, and are all dwarf, compact, and 

 evergreen, the leaves of some being beautifully spotted. They 

 produce their flowers from the centre of the leaves, on an 

 upright stalk, and rise from six inches to a foot high. All 

 are best grown in the East India house, except insigne, 

 which thrives best in a cooler place, and will do well in a 

 warm greenhouse. I grow all in pots with peat, except 

 Loicii, and this I grow in a pot with loam and leaf mould ; 

 they all require a liberal quantity of water at their roots 

 during their period of growth. They need but little rest, 

 and should not be allowed to get too dry at the roots. The 

 plants are not like many of our Orchids ; they have no 

 thick fleshy bulbs to supply them with nourishment. They 

 are propagated by dividing the plant. 



Cyjmpedium harhatum. — A handsome species, with 

 beautifully spotted foliage ; the colour of the flowers 

 brownish-purple and white : it produces its solitary flowers 

 at different times of the year, lasting six weeks in bloom. 

 There are two varieties of this plant, one being much 

 brighter in colour than the other. 



Cyp. caudatum. — A remarkable and curious Orchid 

 from Peru, with light green foliage, producing its pale 

 yellow and green flowers, several together, on a single 

 spike ; there are two tails, which hang downwards from 

 each flower, about twenty inches long. It blooms in 

 March, April, and May, and lasts three or four weeks in 

 perfection. 



Cyp. insigne. — A good old species from Sylhet, with 



