Leptotes (plant) are mounted on plaques of vegetal fiber or tree cork. Watering and fertilizer must be more frequent during active growth periods and less during dormant periods. Ideal growth conditions require an intermediate temperature and exposure to filtered sunlight. In April 1833, an unknown species from the Serra dos Órgãos mountains of Brazil blossomed in the greenhouse of Mrs. Arnold Harrison, an English collector of orchids homaged in diverse descriptions of noted species such as "Bifrenaria harrisoniae" and "Cattleya harrisoniana". A short time later, Mrs. Harrison sent a drawing and cutting of this plant to the botanist John Lindley, who verified
Portia labiata 4 millimetres below a leaf. The spider lies head down, and often slides down 20 to 30 millimetres during moulting. "Portia"s spin a similar temporary web for resting. "P. labiata" is found in Sri Lanka, India, southern China, Burma (Myanmar), Malaysia, Singapore, Java, Sumatra and the Philippines. The populations of "P. labiata" in Los Baños and in Sagada, both in the Philippines, have different environments: Los Baños is a low-lying tropical rainforest where there are many species of spiders, some of which are especially dangerous to "P. labiata"; and Sagada is at higher altitude, with pine-forest and fewer species of