40 
VISITS TO MADAGASCAR. 
CHAP. II. 
cum sesquipedale. Plants of each of these I succeeded in 
bringing safely to Mauritius, and subsequently to England. 
The two latter are, I believe, new to this country, and the ses- 
quipedale very distinct in its habit of growth, having its broad, 
bluish-green leaves of thin fine texture inserted very closely 
together in the stalk, and slightly and gracefully curved to¬ 
wards the tip, and its large waxy, creamy-yellow flowers, four 
or five on a stalk, bending in a line nearly as horizontal as the 
leaves, and differing in this respect equally from the habit of 
the Angrcecum caudatum and Angrcecum eburneum or A. 
superbum . But the greatest peculiarity of this flower is its long 
fleshy spur or tail, one of which depending from a flower I 
measured, and found to be fourteen inches in length, thus 
nearly approaching the foot and a half to which it owes its 
name. 
I often saw the Angrcecum sesquipedale afterwards, but 
never met with it in the higher and cooler regions of the 
country, only in the lower and hottest districts; and there 
it was by no means so abundant as the Angrcecum swperbum , 
which is a splendid Orchid. The Angrcecum sesquipedale 
does not grow in the moist and thickly-wooded parts of the 
lower districts of the island, but generally on the straggling 
trees along the edges of the forest, or in parts where the trees 
are only thinly spread over the country. It seemed to grow most 
frequently on the driest parts of the trunks and branches of 
thinly-leaved trees, and was but seldom seen near the ground. 
The largest plants were found about twelve or twenty feet 
from the ground, and smaller ones higher up. It appeared 
to grow most frequently where there was plenty of light and 
air. The leaves were neither numerous nor large; and in 
its native state the plant presented a starved appearance and 
straggling habit. In this state the flowers were abundant, and 
deeper in colour than when growing in the shade. The roots 
are not matted and succulent like those of A. superbum , but 
