March, 1916.] 



THK ORCHID WORLD. 



131 



CYMBIDIUMS OF THE EASTERN 

 HIMALAYAS. 



IN an article contributed to The Garden, 

 Vol. XXXVIII., p. 13, Mr. Pantling, an 

 eminent authority on Himalayan Orchids, 

 describes how he saw Cymbidium aloifoliuni, 

 C. pendulum, C. sinense and C. eburneum 

 clinging to the trunks of trees, the roots 

 growing" in a huddled mass, as if they were 

 struggling amongst themselves who should 

 occupy the cooler and moister places away 

 from the glare of the sun. The roots of 

 pendulum and aloifolium never ramble from 

 home for provender unless completely 

 protected from sunlight. 



" Ascending higher on the mountain side," 

 states Mr. Pantling, " to an altitude of 6,000 

 feet, one comes to the home of C. grandi- 

 florum, giganteum, longifolium, Devonianum, 

 and their near relations Cyperorchis elegans, 

 cochleatum and Mastersii. Like the species 

 at the bottoms of the valleys these frequently 

 occupy pockets in trees. But the moist 

 nature of the climate provides a different 

 condition for their existence. The trees are 

 invariably covered with a thick jacket of 

 moss, intermixed with old leaves, into which 

 the roots of the Cymbidiums ramble at 

 pleasure, seldom clinging to the wood, and 

 attaining considerable length under the genial 

 protection of the moss. 



" The climatic conditions of these two 

 localities are quite distinct. At the lower 

 altitude the heat is tropical, though the 

 temperature is somewhat modified by the high 

 positions on the trees occupied by the plants. 

 They get a much larger proportion of sunshine 

 than the Cymbidiums at the higher altitude, 

 the rainfall is lighter, about 80 inches for the 

 year, and the general atmospheric condition 

 is much drier. 



" In the cooler locality, at 6,000 feet, the 

 Cymbidiums receive more protection from the 

 sunlight. The forests are much denser, conse- 

 quently the branches overhead are more 

 thickly interlaced, which not only keeps out 

 the rays of the sun, but prevents evaporation 

 on the surface of the ground during the dry 

 period of the year. From June till October 

 a day's sunshine is quite an exceptional 



occurrence. The rainy season has set in, and 

 continues with very little intermission for five 

 months. When rain is not falling, the moun- 

 tains from 4,000 feet upwards are enveloped 

 in heavy cloud, thus keeping vegetation in an 

 almost saturated condition. Take off and 

 squeeze a handful of moss at any time during 

 this season, and the water will run from it as 

 from a well-charged sponge. Yet this is the 

 condition in which Cymbidiums, as well as 

 many other Orchids, exist, or rather thrive for 

 nearly half the year. 



Cymbidium insigne. 



