5 3 ORCHIDS DI' THE SIKKIM-HIMALAYA.
I l l , 4S3; Lindl. Gen. and Spec. Orchid., 79; in Bot. Reg. t. 17.16; Wall. Cat. 2007;
B o t . . M a g . t. 3534; Wight Ic. t. 903; Lodd. Bol. Cab. t. 750; Veitoh Man. Dondrob.
69; Hook. SI. Fl. Br. Ind. V, 738.
Sikkim; ia tropical valleys as high as 3,00^^ feet 5 Pant l ing No. TO. Assfinij Bengiil,
and southwards to Teaasseriin aud the Peuiusula of India; in flower during April
aud May.
The prevailing colour of the flower is a beautiful rose or pale purple, and the
texture is translucent, the lip being pale yellow with radiating lines of purple at the base.
Th'ire ia some variation in the species; aad one form, wliich is characterised by smaller
flowers -with shorter ovaries aud a lip with a longer tube and a shorter limb, was described
a s a species by Kobert Brown under the name D. cucullaUm (Bofc. Eog. t. 548). Sir
Joseph Kooker (FI. Br. Ind. V, 7-i9) considers it as merely a variety of D. Picrardi. It
is, however, a variety which does not now occur in Sikkim, being found chiefly in the
western coast of Southern India.
Pl,vte 7-2:~Dsiidrobium Pierardi, Eoxb. Part of a plant io flower, of natural siso. Fig. I a flower,
2 tlie claw of the lip, 3 the lip, 4 coluoin and its foot, 5 anther, 6 poUiaia; aii enlarQad.
19. Desdrobium EAiiosuM, Wall. Cat. 2003.
Stems slender, pendulous, often branched or viviparous, 12 to 24 in. long. Leauis
lanceolate, acute or acuminate, 3 to 5 in. long and -65 to 1 in. broad. Flowers 1-25 to
1-0 in. long, leaf-opposed, solitary or in racemes of two; floral bract broadly lanceolate,
much shorter than the stalked ovary. Dorsal sepal elliptic, narrowed towards the obtuse
apex; lateral se]5als much broader, their apices narrowed, blunt. Petals as long as the
dorsal sepal, oblong, sub-spathulate, blunt. Lip very concave and much curved from
t h e base, sub-trapezioidly obovate (when spread out), its base slightly auricled; the
side lobes large, broad, convolute; the terminal lobe sub-orbicular, bifid, deflexed and
crisped; the disc from about the middle with a villous green papillose crest. Column
short, stout; the mentum broad and with a shca't sub-bifid pouch at its extremity.
Anther with an erose lip. D. Ruckeri, Lindl. in Bot. Reg. 1843. ilisc. 8, t. 60; Reichb.
fll. in Walp. Ann. VI, 288; Hook. fil. Fl. Br. Ind. V, 733.
Sikkim; on Sittoag, elevation 4,000 to 5,000 feet; Pantling No. 117. Bhotan, Lister.
IChasia Hills, Rita; in flower dm-ing April and May.
The prevailing colour in the flower is primrose yellow. The lip has numerous
radiating streaks of brownish-purple, and the mentum externally is ofcen suffused with
t h e same colour. The villous disc on the mid lobe of the lip is green. Wallich's specimens
of this are in poor condition, but a careful examination of them and a comparison with
specimens of D. Ruclceri, Lindl., have convinced us that the two species aro identical.
We therefore restore the older name of Wallicli.
Pi,ATE -Z.~I)endrohium ramonm, Wall. A plant, of natural sizo. Kg. 1 a flower, with ita stalked
ovary and bract, 2 column, mentum and lip, seen from the side, the ,epah and petals being removed
•6 posterior part of hp, from above, 4 transverse seeiioa of the lip, Jlattmed ou(, 5 column m profUe
b front of column showing the emargmate sacoatc terminal pouch, 7 author, as seen from behind
3 polUnia; all enlarged. '
DKNDnOBIFM.
20. Diìììdeobium' ftETEROCAEPUM, Wall, in Lindl. Gen. and Spec. Orchid., 78.
S/cms erect, as thick as a goose-qiiill at the base but much thicker ('5 in.)
upwards, ribbed, sheathed, 9 to 18 in. long. Leaves narrowly clliptic-oblong, subacute;
length 3 to 5 iti., breadth '5 to 1 in. Flowers 2 to 2-5 in. across, solitary,
or two or three on a very short peduncle from the leafless stems ; floral bract
broad, obtuse, convolute, much shorter than the stalked ovary. Sepals subequal, thtj
dorsal linear-oblong, sub-acute; the lateral pair lanceolate. Petals as long as the dorsal
sepal, broadly lanceolate. Lip longer than the lateral sepals, trowel-shaped, acute,
decurved, the edges undulate, the sides of the base somewhat convolute, the disc
papillose-pubescent. Column very short, broad above the foot, tapering, cxcavated and
with a raised lino down the centre. Menlum short, conical, obtuse. Anther convex,
grooved on the upper surface, its edge eroso, the inner pollinia very narrow. Wall.
PI. As. Rar. II, 84, t. 196; Lindl. in Bot. Reg. 1844, Misc. 49; Bot. Mag., t. 4708
and 4978 (var. Eenshallii)-, Fl. des Sen-es VIII, t. 842; G'ard. Ghron. 1885, I, 472,
fig. 84 B; Hook. fil. Fl. Br. Ind. V, 737. B. aureim, Lindl. Gen. and Spec. Orchid,
77; in Bot. Reg. 1839, t. 20 (var. falUda)-, Wight Ic., t. 1046; Veitch Man. Dendrob.
19 with fig. ; Reichb. fil. in Gard. Chron. 1880, 73 (var. Plnlippinonsis)-, lleiohenbachia
I I , t. 03. D. rhombetm, Lindl. in Bot. Reg. 1843, t. 17. Dendrobium sp. Griff. Notul.
I I I , 304; Ic. PI. Asiat., t. 306.
Sikkim; in tropical valleys up to 3,500 feet; in flower during April; Pantling
No. 200. The Himalaya westwards to Nepal; Assam, the Khasia Hills, Upper Burmah ;
also in the hill ranges of Southern India and in Ceylon. Distribution; Java and the
Philippine Islands.
The prevailing colour in the flower is white or pale ochraceous, often tinged with
green ; the lip being either yellow or white, with a yellow disc and many red or
purple radiating lines. The flowers are faintly fragrant.
P l a t e 74.—Dendrobittm Jieterocar^wn, Wall. A plant io flower and one in fruit. Fig. 1 a floral
braet-flattened out and a leaf, 2 sepals and petals; all of natural size-, 3 column and its foot
and mentum, showing the vertical rib down the excavated centre of the Jatter, 4 author, 5 pollinia,
6 an inner poUinium ; ail enlarged.
21. Den-dbobiuji CI.AVATU.M, Wall. Cat. 2004.
Sienis somewhat thicker than a swan's quill, scarcely clavate, the leafy stems
smooth, the leafless vertically ridged, 18 to 30 in. long. Leaves coiiaceous, nariowly
oblong, the apex blunt or sub-acute, very slightly notched; length 3'5 to 5 in., breadth
•8 to 1-5 in. Inflorescence from the leafless stems of the previous year; the peduncle
2 or 3 in. long, erect, bearhig several tubular membranous oblong sheaths; the
raceme two or throe times as long as the peduncle, horizontal or decurved, bearing
f r om four to six rather distant flowers 2 to 3 in. in diameter. Floral bract membranous,
oblong, sub-acute, shorter than the slender pedicelled ovary. SepaU oblong,
sub-acute or blunt. Petals broadly ovate, sub-acute. Lip narrowed and ci>nvolute
in its lower part, the anterior part expanded, concave, orbicular-reniform, its margins subiimbriato
near the base, undulate near tbo apex; the upper surface tomentose. Column
and foot both short, the latter with a nectary near tho base; mentum short. Lindl. in
Paxt. Fl. Gard. II, 104, fig. 189; Bot. Mag., t. 6903; Reichb. fil iu Walp. Ann.
VI, 293; Eook. fil. Fl. Br. Ind. V, 946.