30 
L/ELIA majalis. 
The May-flower Lelia. 
GYNANDRIA MONANDRIA. 
Nat. ord. ORcHipACExX. $ EPIDENDREX. 
LALIA. Lindl. supra, 1839. misc. 42. 
$ 1. Grandiflore ; Petals distinctly larger than the sepals. 
L. majalis ; folio angusto scapo bifloro sequali, bracteis membranaceis ovatis, 
sepalis lanceolatis, petalis oblongo-lanceolatis duplö latioribus, labelli 
lobo medio rotundato emarginato plano lateralibus parvis obtusis. 
L. majalis, Lindl. in Bot. Reg.1839. misc. 42. Bateman, Orch. Mex. § Guat. 
4.23. ' 
Cattleya Grahami, Lindl. Gen. & Sp. Orch. p. 116. 
The history of this charming plant is so well given by Mr. 
Bateman, that we beg to extract it from his magnificent 
work on the Orchidacez of Mexico and Guatemala. 
“This lovely plant abounds in the most temperate parts 
of Mexico, where its exquisite beauty has rendered it a prime 
favourite with the natives, from whom it has received the 
familiar appellation of ‘Flor de Mayo.’ It does not however 
appear to have been long known to botanists, Dr. Schiede 
having been the first to send specimens to Europe, which, 
through the liberality of Professor Schlechtendahl have been 
extensively distributed. Living plants were first obtained by 
Mr. Barker from Oaxaca through the instrumentality of Mr. 
Ross: and more recently, a large supply has been received by 
the Horticultural Society of London, collected by Mr. Hartweg 
in San Bartolo, in situations so elevated, that the temperature 
sometimes falls below the freezing point. This habitat, so 
unusual for an Orchidaceous plant, will go far to explain the 
ill success that has hitherto attended its cultivation, for while 
it is comparatively easy to imitate the close and humid atmos- 
phere in which most of the tribe are found, it is infinitely more 
difficult to provide a substitute for the pure air and frequent 
changes of temperature in which these mountain epiphytes 
June, 1844. z 
