Oclobi'r, 1915.] 



THK ORCIIIl) WORIJ). 



15 



RENANTHERAS. 



THERE are few Orchids in the tropics 

 more easy of cultivation and more 

 floriferous tlian the Renantheras, 

 commonl)' known as Spider or Scorpion 

 Orchids, and no tropical garden can be 

 considered at all complete without them. 

 About a dozen species are known, all natives 

 of the Malay and Chinese regions. The 

 plants have woody, terete stems usually about 

 as thick as a pencil, emitting long, grey, terete 

 roots from the joints, and attaining a length 

 of 20 or 30 feet, or even more. The leaves 

 are leathery, oblong, distichous, rather far 

 apart, and the flowers are produced m 

 large panicles of several branches, usually 

 spreading horizontall)' and covered with 

 flowers, often of large size and brilliant colour 

 The Renantheras are propagated by cuttings 

 which grow readily when merely stuck in the 

 ground. To grow them it is best to dig a 

 round bed, in which is put leaf-mould mixed 

 with broken crocks and charcoal, and fairly 

 stout poles, 7 to 10 feet tall, are put m the 

 beds, up which the Renantheras will grow. 

 The beds are made in full sun, ;iiid from time 

 to tune a little cut grass should be thrown on 

 the l)ase of the plants, (irown in this maiinci' 

 most o[ the Renantheras will thruc and 

 flower several tunes a year. 



The Vandas, V. teres and V. Ilookenaiia, 

 and the hybnd V. Miss Joacjuuii, are best 

 grown in the same way as Renantheras, and 

 in good damp soil are very floriferous. 

 Renantheras may also l)e grown on trees, ])ul 

 as they do not flower till they get to the light 

 this is rather a slow method. Light being 

 what these plants require, cultivation m 

 Europe has not been \ery successful on the 

 whole, though several species have flowered 

 in hothouses. Renantheras are seldom 

 attacked by any pests, but T have seen them 

 injured by the small 1)1 ack Orchid weevil m 

 Penang. 



The following species ha\e been cultivated 

 in Singapore : — 



R. arachnites, Lindley (Arachnanthe 

 moschifera). The Scorpion Orchid, native of 

 Perak. 



R. Maingayi, Ridley. Native of the Malay 

 Peninsula. 



R. alba, Ridley. Native of the Peninsula 

 and Borneo. 



R. matutina, Lindley. Native of Borneo 

 and Malay Peninsula. 



R. micrantha, Lindley. Native of the 

 Peninsula. 



R. Storiei, Reichenbach f. Nati\c of the 

 Philippines. 



R. coccmea, Loureiro. Native of Cochin 

 China and China. 



R. Imschootiana, Rolfe. Native of Assam. 



Others are R. bilinguis, Reichenbach, 

 of Borneo ; R. sulingi, of Java, and R. 

 tnchoglottis, Ridley, of Borneo. 



The plant commonly called Rcnanlhcra 

 Lowii does not really belong to this genus. 



R. arachnites is the largest and strongest 

 grower, and a very regular flowercr. The 

 flower-si^rays are large and the flowers 

 3 inches across, the largest m the genus ; 

 the sepals and ])etals are green with blotches 

 of brown, the lip white. 



Erom its curved lateral sepals and straight 

 upper one, it has obtained the name of 

 Scorpion Orchid, as it vaguely recalls the 

 appearance of that cre;iture. It has a strong 

 scent of Musk emitted from the tip of the 

 upper sei)al, which is curved back. It flowers 

 twice or oftener a year, January and July, and 

 occasionall}' fruits. 



R. NLiingayi, Hooker lil., is nearly as big a 

 plant, but the lea\es are more flaccirl. I he 

 p;inicles are usuall)- large and loose, an(i the 

 flowers distant, quiic scentless, of a similar 

 shape to those of the previous s])ecies, and 

 nearly as large, the ground colour white or 

 pmkish-white, with numerous blotches of 

 shnmp-pmk. In some forms the flowers are 

 almost suffused entirely with dark pmk. It is 

 a very beautiful species, but a much shyer 

 flowerer. V ery fine sprays, however, are often 

 to be seen m Singapore gardens. 



R. alba was first met with by myself 

 climbing over bushes in hot, open sandy 

 country in Pahang. It occurs in many places 

 in the Peninsula, especially near the sea ; I 

 have seen it in immense abundance climbing 



