I 
ORCHID  TEA.  441 
may  be  looked  upon  as  a  fossil  resin,  produced  by  trees  which  in 
long  past  periods  adorned  the  forests  of  that  continent,  but  which 
at  present  are  either  totally  extinct,  or  exist  only  in  a  dwarfed 
posterity."  This,  he  remarked,  would  be  all  the  less  surprising 
if  the  consideration  were  taken  into  account  that  "  tropical 
Africa,  the  home  of  this  copal,  is  at  the  present  moment  the 
least  explored  continent :  and  if  it  were  further  borne  in  mind 
that  after  another  analogous  resin,  the  amber,  became  known  and 
brought  into  practical  use,  more  than  500  years  elapsed  before 
the  learned  Dr.  Goeppert,  whilst  pointing  to  its  fossil  nature, 
succeeded,  with  some  degree  of  probability,  in  tracing  its  origin 
to  coniferous  trees." — London  Pharm.  Jour.,  July,  1866,  from 
Gardeners'  Chronicle. 
ORCHID  TEA. 
By  John  E.  Jackson. 
To  have  to  look  to  the  Orchid  family  for  any  large  staple  arti- 
cles of  trade  other  than  Vanilla,  would  be  not  only  to  look  to  a 
new  field,  but  also  to  a  very  interesting  one.  The  application  of 
the  leaves  of  one  of  these  plants  as  a  substitute  for  tea  has  lately 
come  under  my  notice.  The  product  has  been  heard  of  before  in 
its  native  country,  but  never,  so  far  as  I  know,  in  fashionable  or 
civilized  society.  It  has,  however,  now  made  its  appearance  in 
Paris  as  a  regular  article  of  trade,  and  is  highly  recommended  as 
a  most  agreeable  beverage. 
The  plant  yielding  this  new  description  of  tea  is  the  Angrce- 
cumfragrans  of  Thouars,  an  epiphytal  orchid  of  the  island  of 
Bourbon,  where  it  is  known  and  used  under  the  name  of  "  Fa- 
ham."  This  word,  once  an  obscure  native  name,  is  now,  if  we 
are  to  believe  the  enterprising  French  firm  who  has  just  intro- 
duced it,  destined  to  become  a  "household  word,"  for  "  Faham  " 
is  the  name  under  which  it  is  now  sold  in  Paris,  and  the  word 
appears  in  large  letters  upon  the  boxes  in  which  it  is  packed,  as 
well  as  upon  the  circulars  accompanying  them.  The  headings  of 
these  circulars  run  as  follows  : — "  Faham,  from  the  Isle  of  Re- 
union, imported  from  and  manufactured  at  Reunion."  There  is 
also  a  rough,  but  not  at  all  a  bad  cut  of  the  plant  producing  it. 
