Tab. 4151 



govenia utriculata. 



Bladdery Govenia. 



Nat. Ord. Orchide^e.— Gynandria Monandria. 

 GOVENIA. Lindl. (Vide supra Tab. 3660.) 



Govenia utriculata; pseudo-bulbo ovato vagina ampla merabranacea 



striata pellucida oblongo-attenuata incluso, foliis binis lato-oblongis 



acuminatis plicatis basi attenuatis, racemo elongato multifloro, sepalis 



petalisque curvatis acuminatis, labello oblongo-ovato acuto. 



Govenia utriculata. Lindl. (v. Bot. Reg. 1839. Misc. sub. n. 66.J 



Cymbidium utriculatum. Sw. in Act. Nov. Tips. 6. p. 75. Fl Ind Occ 



™?' U7 7- Willd - S P- PL v - 4 - P- 107 - Spreng. Syst. Veqet. 3. p 

 724. Lmdl.Gen.etSp.OTchidp.ll0. * P 



Limodorum utriculatum. Sw. Prodr. p. 119. Jacq. Fragm. Bot. 29. t. 

 32. f. 4. 



For a long time, this singular plant, remarkable for the 

 large, transparent, bladdery sheath surrounding its scape 

 and the lower part of the leaves, was only known from 

 the description of Swartz, who gathered it in Jamaica and 

 Hispaniola. A specimen, in a very imperfect state, sent to 

 me by Dr. Macfadyen, from the former of the two islands 

 just mentioned, was all that Dr. Lindley had seen ; and from 

 } t he made some remarks in his valuable Genera et Species 

 Orchidearum. An allied plant communicated from Mexico 

 (Govenia lagenophora, Lindl J, satisfied him, however, that our 

 Jamaica " Cymbidium" was a congener, and he then, in the 

 volume of the Botanical Register Miscellany above quoted, 

 named it Govenia utriculata. The attention of our Collector, 

 Mr. Purdie, was especially directed to the re-discovery of this 

 plant in Jamaica, and we had soon the pleasure to receive 

 fine dried as well as living specimens at Kew. The latter, 

 planted in earth in a pot, flourished, and blossomed beautifully 

 m September, 1844. The bladdery sheath seems destined to 

 contain water for the nutriment of the plant. 



Descr. Plant terrestrial. Root of large, coarse, tortuose, 

 rather woolly fibres. From the summit of this, rises ;i singular, 



