606 ORCHIDEjE. 



CXLVII. BURMANNIACE^. 



Perigone coloured, of 3 exterior and 3(-0) interior divisions. Stamens 3 (-6), inserted 

 into the perigonial tube. Ovary inferior, syncarpous or paracarpous, many-ovulate. Em- 

 bryo undivided : no albumen. — Small herbs ; leaves minute or narrow. 



1. BURMANNIA, L. 



Perigone infundibular: interior lobes minute. Ovary 3-celled. Capsule usually 3- 

 winged, irregularly dehiscent by transverse slits between the angles. 



1. B. capitata, Mart. Annual; stem filiform, simple, subaphyllous : scales distant, 

 lanceolate-acuminate ; flowers in a small terminal head ; perigonial tube 3-costate. — Mich. 

 Fl. t. 3.— Tripterella, Mich.— 2"-8" high ; scales l'"-2"', flowers 2"'-3'" long, the latter 

 " whitish."— Hab. Jamaica \, Wullschl. ; Trinidad !, Pd., Cr., in savannahs ; [Carolina ! 

 to Brazil!]. 



2. APTERIA, Nutt. 



Perigone infundibular: lobes of unequal breadth. Stamens with a broad, obcordate, 

 dorsal appendage. Ovary 1-celled. Capsule medianicide at the summit. — A filiform, simple, 

 or few-branched annual ; leaves scale-like, distant, ovate-lanceolate, sheathing ; cyme race- 

 miform, one-sided or few-1-flowered : flowers blue. 



2. A. setacea, Nutt.— Hook. Ic. t. 660.— A. lilacina, Mrs. : a large-flowered form. 

 A. hymenanthera, Miq. — 2"~4" high; perigone 4"'(-H'") long: lobes subuniseriate, blunt- 

 ish, 3 linear, 3 deltoid. — Hab. Jamaica !, Pd., Wils., in high savannahs, Manchester ; Tri- 

 nidad !, Cr., among mosses, Tocuche, heights of Las Cuevas ; [Alabama ! to equatorial 

 Brazil !]. 



3. DICTY0STE6A, Mrs. 



Perigone nrceolate : interior lobes smaller. Stamens devoid of dorsal appendages. Ovary 

 1-celled. Capsule medianicide. — Root-fibres with ciliate scales ; stem filiform ; leaves 

 scale-like ; flowers in a terminal cyme. 



3. D. orobanchoides, Mrs. Stem erect, simple ; cyme 2-fid : branches racemiform : 

 pedicels nodding, alternating with the bracts ; ovary turbinate, ecostate ; capsule 3-valved. 

 — Hook. Ic. t. 254.— Apteria, Hook. — 8"-12" high ; scales appressed-sheathing, ovate-ob- 

 long, superior distant ; perigone 1"' long, white, deciduous: capsule as long. — Hab. Trim- 

 dad !, Cr., at Aripo ; [Brazil]. 



CXLVIII. ORCHIDEjE. 



Perigone coloured, of 3 exterior and 3 interior divisions : the third, interior (the lip or 

 labellum) difform. Stamens l(-2), gynandrous (the combined sexual organs forming the 

 column) : anther with definite pollinaria. Ovary inferior, mostly paracarpous : placentas 3, 

 many-ovulate. Pericarp capsular. Embryo undivided : no albumen. — Perennial herbs, 

 often with tubers, the latter either above ground (aerial) or terrestrial ; leaves entire ; in- 

 florescence centripetal. 



Vanilla is the aromatic fruit of the genus Vanilla. 



Not having devoted a particular study to the tropical Orchids, I am glad to acknowledge 

 that the determination of the West Indian species, in most cases, is due to Dr. Lindley (m 

 PI. Wright, and Herb. Hook.), Dr. G. Reichenbach (in my own collection), and Dr. Brad- 

 ford, who gave descriptions and sketches, drawn from the living plants in the island of Tri- 

 nidad, and communicated by Mr. Hance. The letters L. and B., added in parenthesis to 

 the names of species, refer to Dr. Lindley and Dr. Reichenbach, having confirmed the de- 

 termination of the specimens. 



Tbibe I. MALAXIDEAZ. — Pollinaria waxy, devoid of stalks (caudiculaj. Anthers in 

 n special terminal cavity of the column ( anther-bed or clinandrium) , jointed at the base, 



