Tazs. 8074. 
LISTRO STACHYS namata, 
Tropical West Africa. 
_C RCHIDACE. Tribe VaNDE&. 
Listrostacuys, Reichb. f. in Bot. Zeit. 1852, p. 930; Benth, et Hook. f. Gen. 
Plant. vol. iii. p. 583, sab Angrzeco. 
Listrostachys hamata, Rolfe; inter species hujus generis hucusque cognitas 
labelli calcare apice hamato facile distinguenda. 
Herba epiphytica, robusta, circa 1 ped. alta. Folia recurva, oblonga, oblique 
et inaqualiter biloba, coriacea, circa 6 poll. longa, 1} poll. lata, lobis 
obtusis. Scapi axillares, arcuati, penduli, circa 6 poll. longi, multifiori. 
Bractez late ovate, obtusee, conduplicate, nitide, brunnesw, 5-7 lin. 
longer. Pedicelli 1-14 poll. longi. Flores albi. Sepala recurva, 
lanceolato-linearia, acuminata, circa 14 poll. longa; lateralia apice 
breviter bidentata. Petala sepalis minora, circa 1} poll. longa. Label- 
lum a basi triangulari longe acuminatum, recurvum, circa 1} poll. 
longum; calear pendulum, arcuatum, validum, basi subinflatum, apice 
subito recnrvam, hamatum, minute bidentatum, circa 13-2 poll. longum, 
viride. Columna crassa, brevissima; rostellum subulatum, subobtusum, 
columna duplo longius ; anthera apiculata. 
This is a very distinct species of the Listrostachys 
arcuata group, more nearly allied to the 8. African 
L. arcuata, -Reichb. f. than is DL. Monteire, Reichb. f., 
figured at t. 826 of this work, and differing from all others 
in the remarkable hooked character of the apex of the 
spur. So anomalous is this character that at first the 
flower was suspected to be abnormal, but it extended 
uniformly to every flower of the raceme, and is invariably 
repeated when the plant flowers, so that it evidently 
represents the normal structure of the species. Apart from 
this and the shorter spur, the species is comparable with 
L. chailluana, Reichb. f., which was figured at t. 5589, 
under the name of Angrezeum chailluanum, Hook. f. The 
group is also represented in Hast Africa by two species, 
L. Sedeni, Reichb. f., and L. Whytei, Rolfe, both known in 
cultivation. The majority, however, are Western, and 
some half dozen species are at present only known from 
dried specimens. 
Listrostachys hamata was received at Kew in 1899, 
among a small collection of Orchids from Lagos, presented 
May Ist, 1906. 
