• i
Asia, Africa,* cincl Amer ica will, perhaps, be ibuDcl to divide tlie species of tlie order amongst them, into three
nearly eqiid proportious (for the lew which Europe produces need scarcely be taken into the account); and llie closer
we approach the Tropics, the more numerous and beautiful tliey become. Arri^'ed, at length, wutliin the jircrincts of
the Tor r i d Zone, we find them no longer " p rone on the ground, " as lieretofore, but conspicuous on the branches of
t h e most rugged trees of the dampest and wildest forests: attracting the eye of the imluralist, from afar, by the
d a z i l i i i g brilliancy of their colours, or arrest ing his attention by their delicious fragrance. And here we must lukv
occasion to observe, that although plants of this description are not unfrequently termed "parasitic," the epiUict is
a l t o g e t h e r misapplied ; for, whi l e the "Parasi tes " prey upon the vital juices of thei r victims, and perish with them, tlie
" Epiphytes" derive nothing but dieir stay, or local habitation, from the plants on which they have established
themselves, and continue to llourish and flower, indifferent as to whether their supporters live or die. The great
majority of the Orchidacea; of the Tropics belong to the latter or epiphytic class; there are however a few that do
not, as was long ago observed by the same ingenious Rcnrrnivs, to whom we have already had occasion to advert:
a f t e r noticing, in terms of due commendation, the dignified habits of 7nosf of the tribe, he proceeds, with a sigh, to
r e m a r k : — " tliat among these vegetable nobles, just as among the nobles of mankind, some degenerat e individuals are
ever to be foimd, who are on the ground always, and seem to const i tut e a class of their own." f But, it is not merely
iu tiieir " h abi t s " that the terrestrial species are placed below the Epiphytes: they are also great l y inferior to them in
s i n g u l a r i t y and beauty.
The Orchidaceai of each of the three great divisions of tJie globe have features of their own, so marked and
¡)cculiar, that in most cases, a practised eye would have little difficuJty in referring e^'cn a totally new form to its
p r o p e r habi tat ion. Thus, for exampl e , the p endent stems and g raceful flowers of mmiy of theDendrobiums , /Erides, and
t h e i r allies, give a character of beauty and lightness to the Orchidaceous Flora of tropical India, which contrasts most
s t r o n g l y with the clumsy pseudo-bulbs of the Bulbophyllums, or the long tails of the Angr.Tcums of Africa,- again, in
America, the characteristic fe<Uures a r e the nprigh! vegetation (as distinguislied from pendent) of the Epidendrurns,
the long s traggl ing flower-spikes of many of the Oncidiums, and a much greater variety of grotesque and marvellous
forms, tlian is to be met with in any part of the Old World.
T h e uses to which the plants of this family are applied, are f ew; but, in several instances, highly romantic. In
D e m e r a r a , that most deadly of all poisons, the "Wourali, " is tJiickened by the juice of the Catasetums; and in
Amboyna, the true "Elixir of Love" is prepared from the minute farina-like seeds of Gr.unmatophylium speciosum. %
I n Mexico, where the ''language of flowers" is understood by ail, the Orchidaccfe seem to compose nearly the entire
a l p h a b e t Not an infant is baptised, not a marriage is celebrated, not a funeral obsequy performed, at which the
aid of these flowers is not called in by the sentimental natives, to assist the expression of their feel ings;—they arc
offered by the devotee at the shrine of his favourite saint, by the lover at the feet of his mistress, and by tlie sorrowi
n g survivor at the grave of his friend; whether, in short, on fast days or feast days, on occasions of rejoicing or
in moments of distress, these flowers are sought for with an a\-idity, which would seem to say that there was "no
sympathy like t/teirs —thus, " F lor de los Santos," " F lor de Corpus, " " F l o r de los Muer tos, " " Flor de Maio," " No
me ohides," (or " Forge t me not,») are but a few names, out of the many, that might be cited, to prove the high
c o n s i d e r a t i o n in which our favourites are held in the New Wor ld. Nor are these the only honours that are paiil to
t h e m ; for HERNANDEZ a s sures us, that in Mexico the Indian chiefs set the ver y highest value on their blossoms, for the
sake of their great beauty, strange figure, and delightful perfume; while, in the East Indies, if RUMPUICS is to be
c r e d i t e d , the flowers themselves positively refuse to be worn, except by princesses or ladies of high degree. || In
H o n d u r a s , again, the large hollow cylindrical stalks of a fine species of 'Epidendrum % a r e made into trumpets, by the
little boys and girls of tlie count ry; and the pseudo-bulbs of several of the more succulent species, are used instead
of resin for the strings of their guitars. The following are, however, almost the only known instances in which the
t r i b e do any direct service t o mankind. The biflbs n^Maxilluria hicolor contain a large quantity of an insipid watery
fluid, which is greedi l y sucked by the poor natives of Peru in the dry season; a fluid of a similar nature is obt;uncd
f r om what is, probably, n.L<elia, in Mexico, and is administered as a cooling draught in fevers; from the roots of
some of the Orchises, the nutritive substance called " Salep" is obtained; in New Zealand, certain species arc of
c o n s i d e r a b l e importance as esculents; and in Guiana, the soles of the shoemaker are as much indebted to the viscid
matter obtained from the Catasetums and Cyrtopodiums, as are tlie poisoned arrows of the Indians.
• h l u u W a i « « C T t a b i c d , b y r c c c n t i n v e l l n » , i b n t t h . m t t i i o r « f A f r i c a ( t i p K u J I y L h o UD1C< o f t h e N i g t r , ) U t
f Jn M c aalta n o i i Z i t e / i , ajut ac Mcr A o m i o f x , tliaoi laUi rffman/ar, qux i n tialicot Jejinrranl, tl ia I.
• w i l ! > O r c b i d u M u i Ep i p h y t » .
'i! erettunt, ijHnjuc jneuliarr c/
I n this list the Vanilla is not included, iis that plant has recently been separated (no doubt, mo.st judiciously)
b y Dn. LISDLEY, from the natural order " Orchidacena," and constituted the type of a new order of its own.
I f then, this brief catalogue comprehend all the instmices iu which this vast order either relieve tiie wants, or aid
t h e pursuits of mankind, its very scantiness would seem to argue that it was neither to provide us with foiJil or
raiment, nor to protect us from disease or cold, that tropical forests were made to teem with an almost endless
v a r i e t y of the tribe: either, therefore, in the cheeriess spirit of atheism, we must suppose them tn have been created
in vain, or we must conclude that their office was something other and higher than to minister to the mere iininuil
n e c e s s i t i e s of our nature. No; it was to yield us a pleasure of an intellectual kind, and so to win our aficctions from
more hurtful things, that these most worthless of plants were clothed in tmrivalled charms;—it was (o provide a
rich banquet in the temple of Flora, which, while it yielded the utmost enjoyment to her more constant volarie.s,
might, at the same time, draw round her innocent table those who were more rarely numbered among licr guests:
a n entertainment, in short, which might attract the man of pleasure by its splendour, the virtuoso by iLs rarity, ami
t h e man of science by its novelty and extraordinary character, ll is, we arc convinced, on this principle alone that
we can attempt to understand the Orchido-Mauia, which now pervailes all (and especially the upper) ehuises, to such
a marvellous extent. Not contented with the exertions of our foreign connexions, we send men expressly to all the
p o i n t s of the compass, to swell the number of the species in cultivation; and in lliis zeal for their introduction, the
a m a t e u r , the nurserjiuan, and the public establishment, all vie with each other. The nobility, the clergy, those
e n g a g e d in the learned professions or in the pursuits of commerce, seem alike unable lo resist the influence of the
p r e v a i l i n g passion; nay, if we may trust a paragraph in a tnorning paper, it has even extended to Windsor Ciustlu itself."
W o r k s solely devoted to the "Orchidaceie" have made, or arc about to make, their appearance;-}- houses for their
accoinmodatiDu are rearing in every direction, and, as a matter of course, included in all designs for a complete
r e s i d e n c e ; t pots for their exclusive use are already sold in the shops of London ; || their blossoms are even now
i m i t a t e d in the establishments of some of the most fashionable manufacturers of nrtificial flowers ; ^ and prixe.s, the nio-sl
munificent, a r e offered by iUl Hor t icul tuml Societies, for the finest specimens of Me i r popular family.
O n the Continent, as in England, collectors arc every day entering the field. Russia, Austria, and even Tuscany,
a r e infected; and in Holland andBelgium, Bulbs and Camellias seem likely to he neglected in the growing rage for the
n ew favourites. In its extent and intensity this Orchido-iminia bids fair to rival the Haarlem niuiiiH for Tulips (so
memorable in the annals of horticultural enthusiasm); it is based, however, on a much better foundation than that
most strange infatuation: forwhi l e mere abstract beauty is all that could be alleged in favour of the one, full fil\v good
r e a s o n s may be brought forward to e.xcuse and even justifv the other, Some of tlieso we shall presently enumerate;
but we must first briefly noticc the cause which has delayed the developement of the present " furor," until
nearly the middle of the nineteenth century, nnd which, we are satisfied, will be found to have been no other than the
s u p p o s e d impracticabilitj- of cultivating them with any success. Jn addition to its obvious tendency to prevent the
formation of collections, this cause had the eflect of retarding the acquaintance of Botanists with this tribe in a far
g r e a t e r degree than could have occurred in the case of any other vegetable family wlialsoever; for not merely does the
s u c c u l e n t and fragile nature of tlie subjects make it, in some cases, iiiipossible to dry them at all, but it always renders
imperfect and diflicult of determination such specimens as, by dint of skill and care, have at last been placed in our
Herbaria.
A g a i n : as it is usual for these plants to flower, for the most part, in the rainy season, in the dampest woods and in
the most noxious atmosphere, they were, in a measure, secured from the <lepredations of the botanical collector, who
would not merely have hud to risk his life to possess himself of their llowers, b u t so secret, am! frequently inaccessible,
a r e the situations in which they grow, that probably, after all his labour and perils, nine-tenths of their number would
have eluded bis g r a sp : the result of his mission would therefore have been to impress us, in the first place, with an
idea that the species were not numerous, and in the next, (o convey but a very imperfect notion of their beauty: for as
the largest and most extraordinary forms arc in\Tiriab!y the most fleeting, so they are the most rarely met with in perfection,
and, even when detected, are the most difficult to preserve. All these circumstances combining with the great
similarity which, when out of flower, the members of this family bear to each other (itt the eyes at least of all but the
initiated), it will no longer excite our surprise that a v e r y e r roneous estimale should have been formed of their number
and merit, until we discovered the proper mode of their cultivation. But no sooner was this grand object atlained.
t W c l l i m l c I t O T i r ( l u t y t « « U . T « , IHAL U i i . p l u i t j i u l b e e n r c c d v e d i n E>:EI«III!, ! n » l l r i i i B n i i i e . f r o m M n . CFMUWO; wo i r e m l J e f o r l l i o c c n M q i i o n e M , i f w h » i
R i r u n i i m » » ) • » o t i u p r o p t p t ! « b e i n i i , « » m i n i , u l i e d o a , " m u l l c r e m p r o w q u i a m o r e U j e i n , O i j o I I U N C FTRIIMM c u m c i l w , T C I p o l u a e r o p i l . " ( ! I ! ) Ilimriiiir«, x j . 1 .
I ] W e c o u l d m u n c , i f x d u n t , c c i l o i a f a i r E n e l l a h 1
I K p r o u q u i a i n o r e U l e m , o i j u o l i u i i
o f " h i g h i l c g n e , " i n v l i « u b c o d - d r c i i c i U i n c p r e i l y v e g c u b i c c x c l i i u v e t l i s r e o l n u l y «
• W e a l l u d e t o a r c c e i i l p a n g m p l i i n t l i e M o n i i i i g PMI, I n » h i c l i " ( A ; a i i n c s e A i r - p k i u " l i i t a l c d t o
t E. J. D r . L l i i d l c y ' i " Smurn OrchiJni«- a n d o u r o w n " Opiiiaihmr
t Mr . U i i l g t r ' j d c i i g n s f o r M i d o n c e i i n L o u d o t i ' . G o n l c n « ' « M n g n i l n e .
B A t L o w e s b y ' » T f r r a < o l l a w a r e h o u s e , 1 8 , K i n g W i l l i n m S t r e i l . S t r m i d .
s A t F o , t e r - . , 1 0 , W i g m o r o S t r e e t
• > e r o y . 1 «