Tab. 6937. 

 BILLBERGIA decora. 



Native of the Amazon Valle;/. 



Nat. Ord. Bbomeliace,*:. — Tribe Bbomelie.e. 

 Genus Billbergia, Thunb. ; {Benth. et Hook./. Gen. PI. vol. Hi. p. 664.) 



Billbebgia (Helicodea) decora ; acaulis, foliis 8-10 loratis dense rosnlatis acutis 

 sesquipedalibus vel bipedalibus facie albo-lepidotis dorso fasciis albo-lepidotis 

 transversalibus percnnis marline aculeis crebris parvis brunneis ascendentibus 

 armatis, pedunculo cernuo subpedali furfuraceo, foliis bracteiformibus pluribus 

 magnis oblongo-lanceolatis rubellis, floribus 20-3H in spicnm densam pendulam 

 aggregatis, ovario oblongo lepiduto sulcato, calj'cis segmentis parvis ovatis, 

 petalis elongatis lanceolatis viridibus spiraliter revolutis, staminibus petalis 

 brevioribus antheris linearibus basifixis, styli ramis stigmatosis linearibus 

 spiraliter contortis. 



Billbergia decora, Poepp. et Endlich. Nov. Gen. p. 42, tab. 57 ; Beer Brom. 

 p. 124; E. Morren in Belg. Hort. 1875, p. 221, tab. 13, 14. 



B. Baraquiniana, Lemaire in HI. Hort. 1864, tab. 421; K. Koch Wochen, 1865, 

 p. 141. 



This is one of the very finest for horticultural purposes 

 and most curious of all the Bilbergias. It belongs to the 

 subgenus Helicodea, which has green petals, which curl up 

 spirally soon after the flower expands. Its nearest ally is 

 B. zebrina, Lindl. {Bromelia zebrina, Herbert in Bot. Mag. 

 t. 2686), which is well known in cultivation. The present 

 plant differs from zebrina by its longer petals, much shorter 

 denser spike, longer coloured bracts and less deeply sulcate 

 ovary. It was first discovered by Poeppig in the year 1831 

 in the virgin forests of Yurimagues, but it was not intro- 

 duced into cultivation until 1864, when it was sent by 

 M. Baraquin to M. Verschaffelt of Ghent. Our drawing 

 was made from a plant that flowered last January in the 

 collection of Sir George Macleay at Pendell Court, which 

 was forwarded to Kew for identification. 



Desce. Acaulescent. Leaves eight or ten in a rosette, 

 lorate, acute, one and a half or two feet long, two inches 

 broad at the middle, three inches at the dilated clasping 

 base, firm in texture, thinly mealy all over the face, furnished 

 with irregular transverse mealy bands on the back, 



mat 1st, 1887. 



