+ 
nearly cylindrical, short, tapering, orange at the base: the /imdé 
of five nearly equal, rounded segments, spotted with deeper red, 
and clothed with glandular hairs. Stamens and style included. 
Ovary roundish-ovate, very villous, having at the base four con- 
spicuous, hypogynous, broad glands, of which one is bifid. W.J.H. 
Curr. About seventy species of this genus are now described. 
They are all natives of tropical America and the adjacent islands, 
and, being highly ornamental plants, a considerable number of 
them have been introduced. They may be characterized as being 
(chiefly) herbaceous plants, producing their showy flowers on a 
soft, leafy stem, that rises from a rhizome, which is either in the 
form of a thick, fleshy, round tuber, or it consists of a number 
of fleshy scales, compactly seated on an elongating axis, and, 
therefore, analogous to an under-ground surculose stem. The 
rhizome of the species now figured belongs to the latter form, - 
resembling that of Gloxinia and Achimenes, and requiring the 
same kind of treatment. It will thrive in a mixture of light 
loam and leaf-mould; and, in order to start the roots, they 
should be placed in bottom-heat in a warm stove, taking care 
~ not to give much water till after they have made some progress 
in growth. If during the summer they happen to be placed in 
a position fully exposed to the south, they will require to be 
shaded during the middle of the day. /. 8. 
Fig. 1. Pistil of G. longiflora (to show the difference in the hypogynous 
glands from G@. Seemanni). 2.Ovary and hypogynous glands of G. Seemanni :— 
magnified. 
