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This page recommends pest-control substances such as arsenic compounds, strychnine, or cyanide — in some cases applied to food crops. These substances are lethal to humans and animals, and their use is now banned or strictly controlled.
This information has been left in for historical purposes but should not be acted upon.
Grammatophyllum
(from grammata, letters, and phyllon, a leaf; in reference to the markings on the leaves). ORD. Orchideoe. A genus of three or four species of rather large-growing, handsome stove epiphytal orchids, usually very shy of flowering. All are natives of the Malayan Peninsula and Archipelago. Grammatophyllums should be cultivated in large pots, filled with peat. Good drainage and a liberal supply of water, when the plants are in a growing state, are essential elements in their culture. After a few strong growths have been made, the plants should be allowed a season of rest. Propagated by divisions of the pseudo-bulbs. The under-mentioned are the only species in general cultivation, and these are still very rare.
G. multiflorum (many-flowered).* fl. green, brown, purple; racemes long, many-flowered; bracts oblong, scale-formed; sepals downy; middle lobe oblong, rounded; lateral ones erect, sub-falcate, with four elevated lamellae in middle. Summer. l. linear, distichous, striated. h. 2ft. Manilla, 1838. (B. R. 1839, 65).
G. m. tigrinum (tiger-spotted). fl. yellow, spotted with purple. Summer. h. 2ft. East Indies, 1840. (B. R. 1842, 69.)
G. speciosum (showy).* fl. nearly 6in. across; sepals and petals undulated, ovate-oblong, rich golden-yellow, spotted with purple; lip three-lobed, streaked with red; scape often nearly 6ft. long, growing from the base of the stem. Winter. l. distichous, lorate, acute, 1 1/2ft.to 2ft. long. Stems sometimes 9ft. to 10ft. high. Java, 1837. One of the most elegant plant in cultivation. (B. M. 5157.)