This rare species is a native of Sierra Leone, where it was 
found by Afzelius many years since. It was afterwards 
introduced with a brief character into Persoon's Synopsis, 
and from that time remained unknown, until it was im- 
ported last year by Messrs. Loddiges, in whose stove it 
flowered in August. 
It offers an excellent illustration of the characters of the 
curious genus Habenaria, as limited in the genera and species 
of Orchideous plants, and will shew the student in a distinct 
manner what the points are in which it differs from the 
genus Platanthera, whither I refer our British Butterfly 
Orchis, to which this bears a striking resemblance. In order 
to make this clear, attention should be paid to the magnified 
figure of a column extracted from the flower, and placed at 
the right hand corner of the accompanying plate. In this 
the lower white portion to the left is the column, vwith 
an auricle or sterile stamen at its upper corner to the right. 
Immediately proceeding from this in a curved direction 
upwards are the white stigmatic canals, in whose hollow the 
lengthened bases of the anther are placed when in their 
natural position. The upper yellow body which divides 
downwards into two legs is the anther; the legs are its lobes, 
which lengthen at their lower end and fit into the stigmatic 
canals, enclosing the pollen masses in their upper portion, 
and in their lower keeping the caudicle of the pollen in such 
a position that it must inevitably come in contact with the 
gland which once formed the tip of the stigmatic canal, but 
which eventually separates from the latter, adhering to the 
caudicle, as is seen in the thread-shaped processes, which in 
the figure rise up from the anther-bases, All these parts 
equally exist in the genus Platanthera. But in Habenaria 
we find an addition of two greenish horns, which spring 
from the lower edge of the stigma, skirting the orifice of the 
spur, and finally project beyond the latter, as is seen in the 
figure. These horns, whack are considered to be processes 
of the stigma, do not occur in Platanthera, unless in a very 
rudimentary state, while in Habenaria they are always so 
fully and obviously developed as to form conspicuous objects, 
even when the flowers are dried. 
ar 
“pr 
