July, 1914.] 



THE ORCHID WORLD. 



227 



VANILLA POMPONA. 



THE genus Vanilla is said to contain 

 about 50 species, although only a few 

 are of importance and commercial 

 value. In 1829 Dr. Schiede published 

 (Linn^a IV.) descriptions of four species of 

 Vanilla, which he discovered during his 

 travels in Mexico in 1820. One of these was 

 V. Pompona. On page 8 of the current 

 volume of the ORCHID WORLD will be found 

 a figure of V. planifolia, and on comparison 

 with the illustration included in the present 

 issue it will be noticed that V. Pompona is of 

 much stronger habit and carries larger leaves. 

 V. Pompona is much more widely diffused 

 than V. planifolia. 



Although V. Pompona is rich in etheral oil, 

 and has an attractive scent, the triangular 

 pods do not appear to be so readily dried as 

 other species, generally remaining doughy, 

 and unfit for commercial purposes. The 

 flowers are large, rather fleshy, pedicels 

 yellow-green; sepals and petals greenish- 

 yellow ; lip bright yellow, nerves thickened, 

 central tuft consisting of descending imbri- 

 cating scales rather than hairs. We are 

 indebted to Mr. Geo. I'Anson for the photo- 

 graph in this issue, which depicts a remarkable 

 specimen in the collection of Messrs. Julius 

 Roehrs, Rutherford, N.J., i:.S.A. The plant 

 was photographed in April last, and then had 

 upwards of 20 buds and flowers as well as 

 about 40 seed-pods. 



The Foreign Office Report, 1894, contains 

 the following note on Vanilla cultivation: — 

 " The native mode of culture is, as a rule, 

 simply to plant the cuttings of the vine under 

 the shade of trees, and then to leave them to 

 grow and twine round supports as best they 

 can. Occasionally, attention is paid to keep 

 the vines trained round the trees and to 

 prevent them from attaining a greater height 

 than nine feet, so that during the inoculating 

 season the flowers may be reached without 

 difficulty. Shade, though not dense, is 

 absolutely necessary during the growth of the 

 vine to ensure a successful crop of beans. 

 About one year from the time of planting the 

 vine commences to flower, and the inoculation, 



which then takes place, must be carefully 

 attended to. In from six to nine months from 

 the time of inoculation the bean will be ripe 

 for picking and curing. The native method 

 of curing IS to keep the beans alternately 

 indoors rolled in cloths, and outdoors during 

 the day spread on mats exposed to the sun, 

 for periods of three or four days at a time, 

 until they are dried and ready for the market." 



Piesse remarks that V. planifolia yields a 

 perfume of rare excellence. When good, and 

 if kept for some time, it becomes covered with 

 an efflorescence of needle crystals. Few 

 objects are more beautiful to look upon than 

 this, when viewed by a microscope with the 

 aid of polarised light. 



STAUROPSIS LISSOCHILOIDES. 



AVERY fine specimen of this elegant 

 species is m the collection of Mr. 

 George Win. R)-der, Broad Hill, 

 Hassocks, who brought it to this country some 

 twelve years ago. Although the plant has 

 made \ igorous growth each season it is only 

 this summer that it has produced its first spike 

 of bloom in this country. y\bout thirty yellow 

 and crimson flowers were formed on the erect 

 spike, the total height from base of plant to 

 apex of spike being nearly six feet. 



To arrive at the earliest date concerning 

 the history of this plant we must go back to 

 the year 1750, when Ruiiiphius described it 

 under the name Angraecum quintum, from a 

 I)lant he discovered in the island of Amboina. 

 In iSr)2 the French botanist Gaudichaud 

 found it in the Moluccas, and named it Fieldia 

 lissochiloides, on account of its supposed 

 likeness to a Lissochilus. In November, 1846, 

 Lindley figured it in his Botanical Register 

 with the remark : " What could possibly have 

 led (iaudichaud to compare this epiphyte with 

 the terrestrial Lissochilus we are unable to 

 imagine, for there is only the slenderest 

 resemblance between the two." The specimen 

 from which Lindley prepared his figure and 

 description was sent to England by Cuming 

 from the Philippines, and first flowered with 

 Bateman, of Biddulph Grange, in June, 1846. 



