Tas. 8175. 
HERBERTIA AMATORUM. 
South America. 
Tripacean. Tribe MORAEBAE. 
HeERBERTIA, Sweet, Brit. Flow, Gard. series 1, 1827, t. 222, et ed. 2, 1838; Benth. 
et Hook. f. Gen, Plant. vol. iii. p. 691, sub Alophia, 
Herbertia amatorum, C. H. Wright in Kew. Bull. 1907, p. 321; a speciebus 
H, amoena, Griseb., et H. coerulea, Herb., ungue macula obcordata notato 
nec punctato differt. i. 
Cormus globosus, tunicis brunneis vestitus. Folia linearia, ad basin attenuata, 
18-20 em. longa, 5-8 mm. lata. Scapus eylindricus, glaber, 1-2 mm. diam. 
30-50 em. altus; rami tenues, circiter 14 cm. longi. Spathae herbaceae, ad 
apices brunneae, virides; exterior 25-32 mm. longa, interior 42-48 mm. 
longa. Perianthium 5 cm. diam.; tubus glaber, viridis; segmenta 
exteriora obcuneata, obtusa, atroviolacea; unguis macula alba obcordata 
notatus; interiora lanceolata, acutiora, violacea, basi brunneo-maculata. 
Antherae \uteo-virides. Stylus carnosus; rami filiformes, acuti, 2 mm. 
longi. 
The genus Herbertia is confined to Southern and Central 
America, and includes, so far as is known, some fourteen 
species whereof, in addition to that now figured, the only 
ones hitherto met with in cultivation appear to be H. 
coerulea, H. Drummondiana and H. pulchella (B.M. t. 3862). 
Some authors have preferred to employ for this genus the 
name Alophia, given by Herbert in this work at t. 3779, 
regarding Herbertia as a synonym. According to Dalla- 
Torre and Harms the date of publication of Alophia was 
1838 ; as a matter of fact this name was not published till 
Feb. 1840, whereas in the reissue of Sweet’s British Flower 
Garden, which is dated 1838, there is a figure of H. pulchella, 
while the plate itself bears the signature:—Pub. by R. 
Sweet, Oct. 1827. 
For seeds of the species now figured Kew is indebted to 
Dr. C. B. Cantera, of the Natural History Museum, Monte- 
video, who collected and forwarded them in 1903. Corms 
raised from these seeds flowered here for the first time in a 
greenhouse in May, 1907. 
JANUARY, 1908. 
