work. One of these flowered in the highest perfection in 

 November last, when it was exhibited at one of the Tuesday 

 Meetings of the Horticultural Society, exciting — as well it 

 might — universal admiration. The flowers, which were more 

 agreeably perfumed than those of 8. violaceum, continued in 

 beauty for nearly a quarter of a year. As to cultivation, 

 patience rather than skill is required, — the main object 

 being to obtain as large specimens as possible, for the ra- 

 cemes of flowers will be large in proportion. 



No doubt S. giganteum is very nearly related to S. viola- 

 ceum ; still it is unquestionably distinct from, and vastly su- 

 perior to that species. " The chief difference," as Professor 

 Eeichenbach observes in an able notice of the plant in the 

 Gard. Chron., "is to be found in the shape, and, in conse- 

 quence, in the nervation of the lip. The lip of Saccolabium 

 violaceum is panduriform, retuse at the apex, with a tooth in 

 the end. All the nerves run nearly parallel. Here the lip 

 is tapering to the base, much dilated at the apex, where it 

 is trifid, but not truncate, with a projecting tooth. Both 

 species have a projecting callosity beneath the lip. Let us 

 add, that the colours of Saccolabium violaceum have a more 

 bluish hue, and that that species, bearing more blotches both 

 on the sepals and petals, has a totally different appearance. 

 S. Harrisonianum we regard as a splendid white variety of 

 the last." 



Desck. Leaves very broad and fleshy, streaked and chan- 

 nelled, irregularly bidentate or eroded at their extremity, 

 from six inches to a foot long, about equal to the dense, 

 many-flowered, nodding, subsecund racemes, that issue from 

 the point of their junction with the stem. Sepals whitish, 

 cuneate-ovate, obtusely acute, not so wide as the petals, 

 which are of the same colour, with the addition of a few 

 lilac spots. The lamella (or plate) of the lip is nearly pa- 

 rallel with the column, wedge-shaped, divided at its apex 

 into three portions, of which those at the sides are semi- 

 rhomboidal, while that in the middle is short and slightly 

 retused, all these three portions being of the most lovely 

 violet hue, while the remainder of the lip is the same tint as 

 the sepals and petals ; there are two hairy lines at the base 

 of the lip, which, descending into the short spur, form a sort 

 of sphincter for the round pedicellate pollen-masses. Column 

 slightly bent backwards, with a short beak on the anther.— 

 J. Bateman. 



Fig. 1. Column and lip, seen sideways. 2. Front of lip : — magnified. 



