at a meeting of the Floral Committee of the Royal Horti- 

 cultural Society. 



Descr. Leaves crowded at the base of the stem, spreading 

 on all sides, and recurved, one to one and a half feet long, 

 one to one and a half inches broad at the sheathing base, 

 thence tapering to the subulate point; channelled on the 

 pale opaque green nice ; convex on the minutely lepidote 

 back ; dull red-purple towards the base, and obscurely so 

 along the veins ; margins quite entire. Scape erect, one to 

 one and a half feet high, rarely short, clothed with subdis- 

 tichous, sheathing, green, erect, convolute, ovate, acuminate 

 bracts one and a half to two inches long. Spike four to six 

 inches long by one inch and a half broad, elliptic-lanceolate. 

 Bracts distichous, closely imbricate, about ten pairs, boat- 

 shaped, green, with flattened pink sides, subacute. Flowers 

 two to five opening at once, two inches in diameter. 

 Sepals linear-lanceolate. Petals violet-blue, with white 

 claws and base of the limb, which is obovate-orbicular, 

 apiculate ; margins recurved ; claws white, slender, free. 

 Stamens included, in pairs opposite the claws of the petals ; 

 filaments linear, flattened 5 anthers small, linear-hastate, as 

 narrow as the filaments. Ovary much shorter than the 

 stamens, narrow ovoid ; style as long ; stigmas three, 

 linear, erect, coherent ; ovules numerous, in many series in 

 each cell. — /. D. H. 



Fig. 1, Claw of petal and stamens; 2, ovary; 3, transverse section of 



ttO : nil mnnni 'fieri 



ditto : — all magnified. 



