82 



THE ORCHID WORLD. 



[January, 1915. 



MasJeoallia Chimara. 



EPIDENDRUM WALLISll. 



WITH the possible exception of 

 Dendrobium, no genus of epiphytic 

 Orchids IS spread over so vast an 

 area as Epidendrum, and although the 

 majority of the species are of little more than 

 botanical interest there are a few well worthy 

 of inclusion among the cultivated representa- 

 tives of the family. Epidendrum Wallisii 

 IS not only very attractive, but it is of 

 considerable utility, for strong plants remain 

 m flower several months and sometimes 

 continue to produce bloom throughout the 

 whole of the year. 



The habit of the plant is well shown in the 

 accompanying photographic illustration. The 

 colour of the flowers is canary or golden- 

 yellow, spotted with dark purple ; the 

 labellum white, streaked and stained with 

 purple, and having three raised orange lines 

 at the base, of which the middle one is the 

 longest ; the column short, thick and pale 

 yellow. The spotting on the petals is 

 variable, in some varieties it is entirely absent. 



This species was introduced by Messrs. 

 Veitch in 1 874, through their collector Gustav 

 Wallis, who at that time communicated no 

 locality. It is now known to inhabit the 

 Frontmo district, on the western Cordillera of 

 New Granada, growing m light situations at 

 4,000-7,000 feet elevation. 



The year following its introduction 

 Reichenbach wrote the following note ( Card. 

 Chron., 1875, 66): " E. Wallisii forms a 

 new section of the Epidendra, with a leafly 

 stem (not pseudo-bulbous). When I proposed 

 the section Pleuranthium I included the 

 Epidendra which have a lateral inflorescence, 

 like that of so many Dendrobia, and opposed 

 to the general rule, all others having terminal 

 ones. Now there are a few species which 

 have both terminal and lateral inflorescences. 

 I believe the difficulty can only be solved by 

 proposing a new section, which I call 

 Acropleuranthium. The oldest species is E. 

 exasperatum, discovered by Wendland, fils. 

 Now comes our neophyte. I do not know 

 how tall the plant may become, my dry 

 si)ccimen is but a span high. The flowers 



