with equally beautiful Orchidaceous plants. The present species 

 has many points in common with Jacquin's Trflandsia Uyulata 

 (native of Martinique), of his Select. Stirp. American, p. 92. t. 

 62 ; still more with the coloured figure of the same plant in the 

 Nuremberg edition of that work, entitled ' Amerikanische Ge- 

 wachse nach Linneischer Ordnung,' v. 2. t. 101, which plant 

 Dr. Lindley refers to Plumier's and his genus Carayuata ; and I 

 should perhaps have referred it to that species, but that Jacquin 

 says the flowers are white, whereas here they are a rich purple. 

 It is the old and decaying flowers only which emit the odour 

 that has suggested the specific name. 



Descr. Our plants grow in a fasciculated manner ; the very 

 short stem is thicker than one's finger, more or less scarred by 

 the falling away of the lowest radical foliage. Leaves copious, 

 imbricated, rather full green, glabrous, about a foot long, an 

 inch or more wide, erecto-patent, ligulate, channelled, spinuloso- 

 serrate at the margin, the apex sharply spinoso-acuminate, very 

 pungent; the base sheathing and subventricose. Spike terminal, 

 sessile, three inches long, amentiform, terminal, but so much 

 shorter than the outer foliage, that it could not easily be seen 

 but for the presence of the richly-coloured, erect floral leaves, 

 longer, indeed, than the spike, but much shorter than the outer 

 or cauline leaves. Bracts large, closely imbricated, greenish- 

 white, tinged with reddish, very broad- ovate, almost sheathing. 

 Floiuers mostly concealed by the bracts ; the apex of the corolla 

 only exserted. Calyx of three, sheathing, elongated sepals ; petals 

 with long claws, the spreading dark-purple limbs only exserted, 

 the claws without scales, but with indistinct laminae. Stamens 

 included, inserted near the middle of the claws. Filament very 

 short; anther sagittate, pale-yellow. Ovary oblong; style fili- 

 form, as long as the claws of the petals ; stiymas three, spirally 

 twisted. 



Fig. 1. Flower. 2. Petal and a stamen. 3. Pistil -.—magnified. The two 

 other figures {natural size) represent a flowering plant; the spike of flowers 

 covered by the foliage; and the plant cut through vertically, showing the posi- 

 tion of the flowering- spike in the centre of the brilliantlv-coloured floral leaves. 



