88 



the seeds from Mexico, and presented them to the Horticul- 

 tural Society. One of the houses in the garden at Chiswick 

 was richly ornamented with it in October last. Neither 

 I. rubro-ccerulea, nor I. Horsfalliae, nor any of the other 

 noble species which have found their way to Europe of late 

 years, excels this in the richness of its colour, which is of a 

 peculiar tint, resembling nothing so much as the deepest 

 purple ever seen in the finest varieties of Petunia violacea. 

 As the flowers are fully two inches and a half long, and grow 

 in clusters upon the end of long graceful peduncles, the 

 rich effect of this species may be easily imagined. The stem 

 is shrubby, so that it will be multiplied by cuttings, and 

 is distinctly marked by small elevated tubercles. The 

 leaf-stalks are three inches and a half long, and covered with 

 close-pressed hairs ; the leaves are of about the same length, 

 dull green, soft with long hairs, roundish, acuminate, deeply 

 cordate, with a very slight tendency to be toothed ; the 

 veins of the under-side are remarkably prominent. The 

 peduncles are thinly covered with reversed hairs, and are 

 about seven inches long, having five or six flowers at the end. 

 The bracts are linear and obtuse ; the pedicels are rigid, 

 grey with reversed hairs, and about half an inch long ; the 

 sepals are ovate, acute, convex, and shaggy with long 

 spreading hairs. The stamens are about one-third the length 



of the corolla, and are bearded at the base with long loose 

 hairs. " 



y\ 



mm W ^ 



163. EPIDENDRUM calamarium. 



calamiformibus 



planis abruple acutis, raceuio simplici erecto, bracteis squamiformibus acu- 

 minatis, sepalis patentissimis linearibus acutis apice recurvis, petalis angus- 

 tioribus subspathulatis, labello postico subrotundo acuto convexo. 



A Brazilian species, allied to E.fragrans, imported by 

 Messrs. Loddiges, with whom it flowered in October. It has 

 pale, whole-coloured, yellowish green flowers, with five small 

 violet-coloured spots at the base of the lip. It is a plant of 

 little beauty, and no fragrance. 



