January, 1914-] 



THE ORCHID WORLD. 



81 



to this position by carefully training the long- 

 slender stalks in order to show as much as 

 possible of the plant's singular beauty. 



The flowers of Angraecum rectum and A. 

 recurvum are very similar, and this no doubt 

 accounted for the error in naming the above 

 specimen. There is, however, a very marked 

 difference in the habit of the plants, and a 

 careful consideration of the facts leads one to 

 the conclusion that the plant certificated 

 by the Royal Horticultural Society as A. 

 recurvum is in reality A. rectum. 



In 1822 du Petit-Thouars published his 

 " Orchids of Madagascar," in which both 

 plants are figured. In that of A. rectum the 

 flowers are produced from the old leafless 

 portion of the main stem, which is thick and 

 erect ; but in A. recurvum the only flower 

 depicted is produced from the axil of a green 

 leaf, while the main stem is thinner and shown 

 in a bending position. Richards, in 1828, 

 mentions Thouars' figure of A. recurvum, and 

 considered it a variety of A. rectum. 



About the year 1880 the Rev. Wm. Deans 

 Cowan brought home from the east and 

 centre of Madagascar a good collection of 

 dried Orchids as well as many coloured 

 drawings, these now being in the herbarium 

 of the British Museum at South Kensington. 

 This material was fully investigated by Mr. 

 H. N. Ridley, who identified one drawing as 

 A. rectum and another as that of A. recurvum, 

 while in the Journal of the Linnean Society, 

 Vol. XX., p. 329, is a report of a paper read 

 by him, June 7th, 1883, describing Deans 

 Cowan's plants. Of A. rectum he states : 

 " Ankafana. A very powerful perfume at 

 night ; grows erect on branches and on rocks 

 in the more open part of the forest." And of 

 A. recurvum : " Low down on trees or rocks ; 

 a long straggling plant ; flowers early in 

 January." 



Angraecum rectum is evidently rare, for in a 

 description of the Orchids of Madagascar, 

 Jour, of the Linn. Soc, Vol. XXI., p. 477, 

 Ridley remarks : " I have seen no specimen 

 resembling Thouars's figure of A. rectum ; 

 but there is among Deans Cowan's drawings, 

 liesides a very good figure of A. recurvum, 

 Thouars, a coloured drawing somewhat 



resembling Thouars's figure of A. rectum. It 

 differs from the other species in the much 

 closer leaves, blunter sepals and petals, the 

 lateral sepals being recurved and not thrown 

 forward, the more angular lip, and more 

 irregularly and shghtly bent green spur." 



The culture of these Angr^cums is by no 

 means difficult, and so long as a fairly high 

 temperature is maintained, together with 

 considerable atmospheric moisture during the 

 growing season, the plants make rapid 

 progress. The specimen of which we give an 

 illustration was grown along with vanoiis 

 Phalaenopses, the giant Eulophiella Hamel- 

 linii, and its relation E. Elisabethas, Phaius 

 tuberculosus and P. simulans, and other 

 Angrascums, of which, perhaps, A. sesqui- 

 pedale is the best known. 



PLEIONES ON BLOCKS. 



An interesting and successful manner of 

 growing Pleiones on blocks is described by 

 M. H. J. Clayton in a recent issue of the 

 Journa/ of Horticulture. " For more than 

 twenty years," writes Mr. Clayton, " we grew 

 a batch of these dainty October-flowering 

 Indian Crocuses on wood blocks, and found 

 them very interesting. Mr. Taylor, gardener 

 to Sir John Ramsden, Byram Park, grows 

 them very successfully in the same way. 



" The blocks are formed of Elder wood, 

 from four inches to five inches in diameter, cut 

 into lengths of about one foot, then split in 

 their centres. The bark surface is covered 

 with a mixture of equal parts loam and peat 

 fibre, the dormant bulbs or corms being- 

 worked in an inch or two apart, the whole 

 being affixed with very thin wire. Not much 

 water is needed until the growths from the 

 base of the bulbs are fully developed, though 

 the material should not get dry at any time. 



" The blocks can be put on their flat side 

 in any ordinary plant stove, or, if preferred, 

 can be hung from the roof by driving a small 

 staple at each end. Shade is needed in hot 

 weather. As the bulbs ripen less water is 

 required. It is not really necessary to re-block 

 every year, though the old material should 

 be picked out and some fresh added." 



roL. IV. 



12 



