There are native specimens of 8. sessilis in the Kew 

 Herbarium from the Mazaruni river, collected and sent by 

 Mr. Jenman, F.L.S., Government Botanist and Superin- 

 tendent of the Botanical Garden of Georgetown, Demerara, 

 who states that it attains four feet in height. The speci- 

 men here figured was communicated by Sir John Kirk, 

 G.C.M.G., F.R.S., &c, which flowered in a stove in the 

 Royal Garden in April last. 



Deser. Sterna three to four feet high, loosely tufted and 

 rooting, as thick as a crow-quill, dark green and thickly 

 granulate with red-brown short tubercle based hairs. 

 Leaves few, three to four inches long ovate-lanceolate, 

 acuminate, many-nerved spreading and recurved, dark 

 green above with sunk nerves, red-brown beneath with 

 strong ribs. Flowers solitary, terminal, sessile, three inches 

 across the petals, rose-red, with a much deeper coloured 

 lip. Bracts linear lanceolate erect, dark green, spotted 

 with brown, about equalling the perianth-tube. Perianth- 

 tube nearly an inch long, rather slender funnel-shaped at 

 the lip. Sepals and petals subsimilar, linear acute spread- 

 ing and recurved or almost revolute, margins and under- 

 surface pale. Lip as long as the sepals, tube broad rather 

 gibbous at the base, tip expanding into an ovate recurved 

 obtuse limb with recurved erose margins ; disk at the base 

 within, with two short lamellae. Column rather stout, with 

 two narrow short wings on the face about the middle ; top 

 subclavate, terminating in two incurved and recurved 

 semilunar horns, which form an arch and almost meet 

 over the anther. Anther shortly obtusely beaked. — 

 /. /). H. 



Fig. 1, Side, and 2, front view of column ; 3, anther : — All enlarged. 



