m -
D E N D U ü B I U M I^'C)RM()SUM AVU/.
Psciidobulbis icrclibus Crcctis pilosis, foliis distichis ovatis. apice oblique cmai^inaiis obluf
ov-atis ; florihus maxirais ; sepalis oblongis aculis, cxtus carina mwliiiiia, putalis laliaribus obovatis, la
^'''"^""DENDROHIUM FORMOSUM, Roxb. N. Ind. iSjs, III., p. 485 ; Wall, in, Asiat., p, 34, t. 351 H'^l- '«39.
Flore des Serres, t 226 ; id., t. ¡633 (var. gigamtcum) ; Ann, dc Giind, 184S, t I?! ; Willlanis' Orcli, Alb. VII., t. 308 ; U
THIS is the largest ;uid undoubtedly the most showy of all the nigro-liirsute Dendrobia, It is an evergreen Indian
species, the finest variety being obtained from Moulmein. Wc have measured llowers from imported plants nearly live
inches across ; these are produced on the tops of the stems, and are of a shining, white colour, having- a broad blotch of
yellow on the upper half of the labellum, varying from light lemon to deep orange. This plant is found in many parts of
India, and also in the Andaman Islands, whence it was sent home by Colonel Berkeley in 1882, This variety varies
slightly in size of flowers, and has a much thinner and longer bulb. The Andaman delights in heal and moisture, and
gro^vs mostly iii fully exposed situations, with very little shade. Owing to the whiteness, size, fragra)ice, and persistency
of the blossoms, the plant has become a great favourite for culling and decorative purposes ; it is also, when well grown,
one of the most showy orchids for exhibition. It is best cultivated in a basket, in a temperature of about 80 deg. at
night: by sunheat the temperature may rise to 110 deg. Abundance of water and humidity and very little shade should
be given. Growers have scarcely any idea of the heat and rain these plants get in their wild homes : and if a necessary
temperature be sustained in the growing season, and care taken to keep the plants clean and healthy, very fine pseudobulbs
will result. When the growths are finished water may be gradually withheld, so that the plant may enjoy a
season of rest; this plant must not, however, be removed to a cool house or it will die, even in the dry season, for
in what is called the " cool time" in its native countiy the temperature is very high compared to many other Indian
Dendrobe stations. We have found a mixture of the best brown fibrous peat and sphagnum moss the best material
to grow this Dendrobe in, although our collectors have found it growing on rocks in Sylhet and the Khasia hills. The
variety we illustrate is from Moulmein.
Our plate is from a plant now in ihc iiosscssion of Baroness Adolphc; de Rothschild, Prcgny, Geneva,