12 



THE ORCHID WORLD. 



[October, 191 5. 



Araucarias and other trees growing amongst 

 them. In places these rocks are 60 — 70 feet 

 high, and here on the bare faces and m the 

 crevices Orchids of many kinds flourisli. 

 Here the winter temperature sometimes falls 

 to 10 degrees below the freezing-point and 

 the ground is white with hoar-frost, but as 

 soon as the sun is up the temperature rises 

 rapidly to quite a genial warmth in the 

 neighbourhood of ^ s — f>o degrees. 



In these bleak situations Sophronitis 

 \iolacea, Maxillaria porphyrostele and M. 

 marginata grow on the perpendicular faces of 

 the rocks exposed to the afternoon sun. 

 Growing in the crevices of the rock are to be 

 found a few plants of Bifrenaria pubigera, a 

 really beautiful Orchid that deserves to be 

 grown more than it is. In sheltered aspects 

 Oncidium flexuosum flourishes and carries 

 large flower spikes, but I noted that on 

 strings of old bulbs there were comparatively 

 few that had borne spikes of flowers. On 

 the top of the rocks were masses of 

 Epidendrum ellipticum, which, at the time 

 of my visit, the end of March, were in full 

 flower. These carried magnificent trusses 

 of flower a full four inches across. This 

 species will grow almost anywhere, but here 

 it was in perfection living with a minimum 

 of moisture and a maximum of sun and air. 

 A surfeit of moisture in the air for any of 

 these plants must be detrimental when grown 

 under glass, for in nature the air is buoyant 

 in the extreme, and except for an occasional 

 wet three or four days, rarely more at a 

 time, the air is not charged with the large 

 amount of moisture one usually associates 

 with Orchids. 



.Some thirty miles further south-west the 

 regular Araucaria forest zone commences, 

 and from forty to another hundred miles 

 towards the south Mate Tea trees and Tree 

 ferns are largely mixed with the Araucaria. 

 Just below the springing of the fronds of 

 the Tree ferns in many localities is to be 

 found that lovely Orchid Zygopetalum 

 maxillare growing embedded in the trunk 

 of the fern. So tightly attached are they 

 that it is impossible to remove them, and it 

 is necessary to cut down the Tree fern to 



secure the Orchid intact. This is deplorable, 

 as it means that the seedlings are all killed 

 and that the supply of plants must greatly 

 suffer. 



But to return to the habitat of Z. maxillare. 

 The forest where they occur is not dense 

 and a good deal of sunlight enters. In 

 winter minimum temperatures in the forties 

 are the rule, with an occasional drop to 

 very near the freezing-point. At midday, 

 in the growing season, the temperature is 

 round about 75 degrees, dropping greatly at 

 night, even down to 55 degrees. I must 

 admit, however, that even with personal 

 knowledge of the habitat and habits of this 

 Orchid I only succeeded for a while to grow 

 and flower it. My plants flowered well for 

 three years and for another two years made 

 unsatisfactory progress, when I threw them 

 away in disgust. But treated specially in 

 a house to themselves the difficulty of 

 cultivation should not be insuperable. 

 Certain it is the methods of cultivation 

 usually given to this class of Zygopetalum 

 are very different to the natural conditions. — ■ 

 W. J . Kaye, Caracas, Ditton Hill, Surbiton. 



SeLENIPEDIUM GRANDE. — This interesting 

 hybrid between longifolium Hartwegii and 

 caudatum was raised by Seden for Messrs. 

 Veitch and Sons in 1881. When exhibited 

 by .Sir Trevor Lawrence, Bart., at the Royal 

 Horticultural Society, May 13th, 1884, it 

 received a First-class Certificate. It is said 

 to be the most robust Selenipedium known ; 

 the sword-shaped leaves are 24-30 inches 

 long ; the flower scapes frequently exceed a 

 yard m height. The dorsal sepal is 

 yellowish-white with yellow-green veins ; the 

 ventral sepal similar, but with paler veins ; 

 the petals, 12-15 o'' more inches long, are 

 rose-pink, except the broader basilar portion 

 which is yellowish with green veins ; lip 

 greenish-yellow toned with brown, paler 

 beneath, the infolded lobes ivory-white 

 spotted with deep rose ; staminode pale 

 yellow, fringed with blackish hairs at the 

 iiack. 



