61 Orchid Memories - A tribute to Gunnar Seidenfaden (Eds. K S Manilal & C Sathish Kumar); 2003: 1-6. Mentor Books & Indian Association for Angiosperm Taxonomy (IAAT) Abstract Of the recently rediscovered 1500 orchid icones of CAL done during 19 th century and remained unknown for another century, 22 represent the genus Phalaenopsis Bl. belonging to seven species- P. amabilis (L.) Bl., P. cornu-cervi (Breda) Bl. & Rchb.f., P. kunstleri Hook. f., P. mannii Rchb.f., P. parishii Rchb f., P. tetraspis Rchb. f. and P. violacea Witte, all executed by Indian artists under the supervision of the superintendents of the Indian Botanic Garden (formerly Royal Botanic Gardens, Calcutta). The oldest painting in the lot is that of P. amabilis, a Roxburgh’s icone, made after an Amboyna plant that flowered here under cultivation in April 1801. The best ones from each species are reproduced here on a lower scale with adequate notes on history and taxonomy. 19 TH CENTURY PHALAENOPSIS PAINTINGS OF CENTRAL NATIONAL HERBARIUM (CAL), INDIA M. Sanjappa & C. Sathish Kumar * Botanical Survey of India, P-8, Brabourne Road, Kolkota – 700 001, India. * Tropical Botanic Garden & Research Institute, Pacha Palode, Thiruvananthapuram – 695 562, India. INTRODUCTION The orchid icones of Central National Herbarium (CAL) of Botanical Survey of India rediscovered recently after more than one hundred years of oblivion and neglect, number over 1500 and are currently under study and cataloguing for taxonomy, bio-history, restoration and transformation into digital images for wider availability and appreciation (Sanjappa et al. 2002). These paintings were executed by Indian artists under the supervision of the superintendents of the Indian Botanic Garden (formerly Royal Botanic Gardens, Calcutta) from time to time since 1793. During George King’s superintendence (1871-1897) the whole set was taken to Kew where J.D. Hooker studied made copies in 1888 and promptly returned to Calcutta. Despite his complaints on the stiffness of the paintings Hooker was very much appreciative of their value and described many species solely based on them. Hooker also admitted that study of these