PREFACE. vii 
For CENTRAL America the materials at the disposal of the 
author have been less copious, considering the great richness of 
those countries in plants of this natural order; and yet they have 
been considerable. The species of Peru, collected by Mathews, of 
Quito and the Quitinian Andes gathered by Professor Jameson 
and the late Col. Hall, and preserved in the herbarium of Sir W. 
. Hooker, and a few others have yielded the greater part of the in- 
formation in the possession of the author; for the difficulty of com- 
munication between England and these parts of the world, for the 
present, forbids the acquisition of many species in our gardens. 
It will, therefore, be found that many of the species of. Humboldt 
and Bonpland, of Henke, Póppig, and the authors of the Flora 
Peruviana, still remain to be examined by the author. Of the 
latter, however, a portion has been found in the collection of Mr. 
Lambert. 
The East coast oF EQUATORIAL AMERICA and the West INDIES 
are more completely investigated. Our gardens are rich in species 
from those parts of the world, and herbaria are less deficient in 
them. A great quantity of information has been furnished by the 
collections of Mr. Schomburgk in Tortola and British Guayana; 
of Martin in French Guayana, for whose plants the author is 
indebted to Mr. N. B. Ward, and of various Botanists in differ- 
ent parts of the West Indies. There are, however, many of 
the old species of Swartz, about which no evidence seems to exist 
in this country; for it is certain that the Flora of Jamaica is less 
known to Botanists of the present day than that of India. Few 
collections of dried plants would present greater botanical interest 
now than those of Jamaica and St. Domingo, from the mountains. 
For the Brazittan Fiora the author has had the advantage of 
consulting the large collections brought home by Dr. Von Martius, 
and the drawings by Descourtilz in the possession of Baron Ben- 
jamin Delessert; but, unfortunately, both these sources of informa- 
tion were supplied after the publication of the Vandeée; great 
additions have, therefore, still to be made in Brazilian plants to both 
the genera and species of Malaxew, Epidendrez, and Vandce, all 
which will be introduced into the “Revision” already alluded to. 
Fortunately, however, our gardens are particularly rich in Brazilian 
Orchidacez; and the collections of Salzmann at Bahia, of Forbes, 
Douglas, G. Don, Macrae, Gardner, and other travellers, together 
with specimens brought home by Russian botanists, and procured 
for the author by Mr. Prescott, have placed à considerable mass 
of materials within the author's reach. 
