Andes, hanging in bunches sometimes many yards long from 
the branches of trees. It has frequently been sent to England 
as packing for Orchids, but rarely alive, and it is not till 
quite lately that it has been successfully cultivated at Kew, 
from plants imported (as packing from Jamaica). The 
specimen from which our flowers are figured was contributed 
to the Royal Gardens by Mr. J. C. Hopwood, of Stoke 
Newington. It now thrives in a damp stove, growing on 
pieces of tree-fern, and other substances, and flowering in 
spring. The scurfy scales that clothe the plant are beautiful 
microscopic objects. Each presents a nucleus of four central 
cells, around which other cells are concentrically disposed, 
and a delicate transparent wing surrounding the nucleus, and 
formed of a single series of slender extremely delicate ra- 
diating cells. The hairs of the funicle of the seed are formed 
of superimposed cells, of which each fits into a notch of the 
one below it. 
Descr. Forming lax tufts, one to many feet long, pendu- 
lous from the branches of trees, and clothed everywhere with 
a spreading silvery scurf. Stems excessively branched from 
the base, uniform in thickness throughout, filiform, tough, 
flexuose ; branches interwoven. Leaves alternate, bifarious, 
uniform along the whole of the branches, spreading, one to 
three inches long, filiform, acute, groved on the upper side ; 
sheaths half to two inches long, cylindric. Flowers about 
one-third of an inch long, on a very short stout peduncle,. 
terminal, solitary, green. Bracts convolute, acuminate, 3- 
nerved, about half the length of the lanceolate, acuminate, 
green, almost glabrous, 3-nerved sepals, which are tinged 
with red. Petals with a linear 5-nerved claw, equalling the 
sepals ; limb linear-spathulate, recurved, obtuse. Stamens 
included ; filaments filiform; anthers linear, erect. Ovary 
oblong ; style short, stigmas capitate. Capsule half to one 
inch long, straight, linear, trigonous, beaked ; valves of a 
membranous 1-nerved outer layer, and a horny brown sepa- 
rating inner one. Sveds very slender, fusiform; testa 
with a long straight pencil of cellular hairs.—J, D. H. 
Fig. 1, Branch, leaves, and flowers: 2, petals, stamen, and pistil:—enlarged. 
