216 
The Garden Magazine, May, 1924 
Dendrobiums which Drape Mighty Cryptomerias and Furnish 
Century-old Medicine to the Chinese 
SPUR-FLOWERED 
ANGRAECUM 
Though Africa is remarkably poor in 
Orchids several species of Angrae- 
cum (epiphytic in habit) are indige¬ 
nous, of which A.sesquipedale(shown 
above) found in Madagascar is 
perhaps the finest, with its star¬ 
shaped white flowers and foot-long 
spur. “On the same island is a moth 
with a tongue sufficiently long to 
suck the nectar from the bottom of 
this spur and it is the only insect 
that can remove the pollinia and 
effect the fertilization of the flowers" 
(See page 219) 
of introduction to the family in 
general. 
Since our subject is a large one, 
it is convenient to divide it and 
deal separately with the Orchids of 
the Old and the New Worlds. 
Moreover, as the genera are so 
numerous I content myself with 
brief mention of those most com¬ 
monly seen in greenhouses. 
Creeping Species as Tiny as 
Mosses and Epiphytes Ten 
Feet Long 
I N THE forests of Malaysia, epiphy¬ 
tic Orchids are extraordinarily 
abundant, extending southward to northern Australia and north¬ 
ward through the Philippines to Formosa. On the mainland they 
abound in Indo-Malaya and northward to southern China. On the 
other hand, the Indian peninsula and Africa are poor in Orchids. The 
species mostly have a very limited range, being often confined to a 
single small island or to a particular mountain. They grow clustered 
together often in large numbers, and the branches of the major trees of 
the steamy forests of the Malay Archipelago and Indo-China are 
^PHE first wild epiphytic Orchids I saw in any quantity were Dendrobium 
* chrysanthum and D. chrysotoxum in the forest of Yunnan and I may as well 
begin with this particular genus. It is a large and popular one in gardens and 
its members are found in great 
plenty from north Australia 
throughout the Malay Archi¬ 
pelago and north to Japan; on 
the mainland it abounds in 
Indo-Burmah, Assam, and south 
China. The most northern 
species is the pleasing little D. 
moniliforme which is abundant 
on the mighty Cryptomerias 
planted as an avenue leading to 
the shrines at Nikko. One of 
the most popular of all is D. 
nobile which is common and 
wide-spread in western China 
south to Burmah and for cen¬ 
turies has been a favorite medi¬ 
cine among the Chinese. From 
Burmah came the splendid D. 
thyrsiflonim with its broad large 
racemes of flowers with rich 
yellow lip and white sepals and 
petals. D. formosum with its 
broad pure white fldwers, the 
lip blotched with yellow, hails 
from Indo-Burmah and D. Phal- 
aenopsis with its racemose spikes 
of finely colored phalaenopsis- 
like flowers from North Aus¬ 
tralia. The fine D. Dalhouse- 
anum with its tinted gray sepals 
and petals and velvety crimson 
fringed lip is Indian; and D. 
Brymerianum with scented, deep 
yellow flowers and remarkably 
fringed lip is native of Burmah. 
One of the best Australian spe¬ 
cies is D. superbiens and another 
good one is D. bigibbum both 
from the region of Torres Straits. 
A number of handsome species 
are natives of New Guinea, one 
of the best being D. atro-viola- 
ceum with primrose-yellow, spotted with dusky brown, sepals and 
petals and the lip deep violet-purple with a few paler radiating lines 
near the margin; on the outside the lip is green with a large dark 
violet irregular blotch on either side. The flora of New Guinea 
is very little known, and we may expect it to yield, some day, many 
fine Orchids and other plants. 
More than 300 species of Dendrobium are known. The pseudo¬ 
bulb exhibits much variation, being only slightly swollen and stick- 
“VANDA IS ANOTHER FINE GENUS” 
With strange strap-shaped leaves curving scimitar-wise to right 
and left Vanda suavis is an arresting member of the Orchid 
family; a native of Java; white flowers spotted red-purple 
with deep purple on basal half of the lip (described on page 218) 
laden with Orchids of many kinds. Although there is a peculiarity of habit that 
enables one soon to detect an orchidaceous plant even when not in flower, yet 
they vary greatly in size and appearance. Some of the small creeping species are 
no larger than Mosses while the Grammatophyllum of Borneo, which grows in 
the forks of trees, forms a mass of leafy thickened stems 10 ft. long and the 
whole plant weighs many hundreds of pounds. Owing to the great monetary 
value of certain Orchids and the vigor and enthusiasm with which their cultiva¬ 
tion has been prosecuted the world has been ransacked for these plants. Much 
human energy has been expended and many lives given in their quest and a halo 
of romance surrounds the whole topic. More has been made of the subject than 
of any other branch of plant introduction. 
As a matter of fact Orchids, at least the epiphytic ones, are easily transported 
from their homes to our conservatories. With their pseudo-bulbs and thickened 
leaves they are capable of withstanding a considerable amount of dessication 
though careful and expert handling is needed to properly establish them on 
arrival at their destination. 
Owing largely to the fact that they require great heat, an extensive group, of 
which Vanda may serve as an example, is known as East Indian Orchids. An¬ 
other large group of Old World Orchids flourishes best under moderate heat. Of 
these, many Coelogvnes, Dendrobiums, and Cypripediums are familiar examples. 
