98 . EPI DEN DRUM PHCENICEUM. 
two or three months. The sepals and petals are of a light purplish tint, indis- 
tinctly mottled with pale green, while the lip is of a delicate pinkish or lilac hue, 
and has crimson veins. Its appearance, altogether, is very imposing when in 
flower, every part being more or less ornamental, and, at the same time, in 
character with the rest. 
It is cultivated, like E. oncidioides and its allies, in pots filled with heath- 
mould and potsherds, the lower half of the pot being appropriated to rough 
drainage materials, and the soil being somewhat raised in the centre, immediately 
beneath where the plant is placed. A moderately high temperature, with abund- 
ance of atmospheric moisture in summer, and both these conditions a little modified 
during winter, seems to suit it admirably. Propagation is effected by removing 
one or more of the outer pseudo-bulbs when the plant is in a torpid state. 
Epidendrum is derived from epL upon, and dendron, a tree, in reference to the 
epiphytal character of the species. Some species of Epidendrum were among the 
first air-plants made known to botanists ; and hence the application of a name 
which is now understood to indicate the habits of a very large class of the vegetable 
kingdom. 
