

24 





23. SCELOCHILUS Ottonis. 



_ 



Klotzsch in Allyem. Gartenz. 1841. Aug. 14. 



Under this name has been published the following account 

 of a new plant of the Orchidaceous order, which has flowered 

 in the Berlin Garden. It appears to be very near Pleuro- 

 thallis. 



"SCELOCHILUS, Klotzsch. Perigonii foliola exteriora conniventia, cari- 

 nata, basi leviter coalita, lateralia labello supposita, usque ad apicem 

 connata, ad basin in calcar obtusum producta ; interiora exteriori postico 

 sequalia. Labellum integrum, inferne attenuatum, basi bifidum, infra 

 basin columna obsolete continuum, ad marginem infra medium bicorne, 

 disco calloso, puberulo, antice bidentato,dentibus obtusis conniventibus. 

 Columna semiteres, apice subemarginata. Anthera unilocularis. Pol- 



linia 2, solida, sphserica. Herba caracasana, epiphyta ; rhizomate 



csespitoso ; pseudobulbis subnullis ; foliis solitariis, coriaceis, carinatis, 

 basi vaginis squameeformibus, conduplicatis involucratis ; racemo radi- 

 cali ; floribus compressis flavidis. 



"S. Ottonis, n. sp. Foliis oblongis, coriaceis, lsete-viridibus , margine acutis, ^ 



subundulatis, apice conduplicato-acutissimis, recurvis ; racemo radicali, 

 subramoso, folio parum longiore ; foliolis perigonii interioribus oblongis, 

 obtusis, intus purpureo-striatis, sparsimve pubescentibus." 



This small Epiphyte has, with the exception of the flowers, f 



tirely the structure of Oncidium earth aginense, but the 



c< 



leaves are only five inches long and one inch and a half 

 broad. The flower spike is a little branched, slightly longer 

 than the leaf, round, thread-like, smooth, and covered with 

 sessile, drv, membranaceous, lanceolate and acuminate bracts. 

 The flowers are short-stalked, yellow, compressed, 7 lin. long. 

 The column is without colour, twice as short as the floral 

 envelopes. It was introduced in the year 1840 into the 

 Botanic Garden of Berlin by Mr. Edward Otto. He disco- 

 vered it on his journey upon the Silla of Caracas, where he 

 found it £600 feet above the level of the sea, in thick woods, 

 on the trunks of trees. It does not require a very hot tem- 

 perature, as the thermometer, in the elevation where it grows, 

 seldom rises above 7<2£° Fahr. ; it seems, likewise, to prefer 

 the shade to the sun. It developed its small yellow flowers 

 for the first time in the month of July." 



24. CATASETUM abruptum. 



Hooker in BoL Mag. t. 3929. 

 This is certainly identical with Catasetum luridum. 



