Tas. 6014, 
VRIESIA BRACHYSTACHYS. 
Native of Brazil. 
Nat. Ord. BromeLiace&.—Tribe TILLANDSIEz. 
Genus Vriesta (Lindl. in Bot. Mag., t. 4382). 
Vriesta brachystachys; glabra, foliis e basi lata late loriformibus acutis re- 
curvis concavis integerrimis viridibus, scapo rubro foliis longiore, 
vaginis acutis appressis, spica ovato-oblonga lata valde compressa dis- 
ticha, bracteis 1-floris basi imbricatis fere horizontalibus falcato- 
lanceolatis acuminatis compressis infra medium rubris dein viridibus, 
floribus bracteis excedentibus flavis elongatis 3-gonis, perianthii laciniis 
exterioribus coriaceis carinatis lineari-oblongis obtusis, interioribus ‘in 
tubum apice 6-fidum apicibus viridibus coherentibus, squamis ad basin 
tubi perianthii oblongis obtusis. 
Varigsia brachystachys, Regel in Gartenflora, 1866, p. 258, t. 518. 
A very brilliant stove plant, first made known by Dr. 
Regel, from a specimen received at the Imperial Gardens of 
St. Petersburgh, from Messrs. Booth and Sons, of Hamburgh, 
about ten years ago, when, however, its native country was 
unknown. This, however, we have ascertained to be Brazil, 
through specimens collected in that country by Dr. Burchell, 
who gathered them in the province of S. Paolo. 
_ The spike in both Regel’s figure and Burchell’s specimens 
is very small indeed (not two inches long), compared with 
that represented in our plate, which is a faithful representa- 
tion of a specimen which flowered in Mr. Rucker’s establish- 
ment at Wandsworth in November of last year. The sta- 
mens are much longer too than those represented in the 
Gartenflora; but this is probably due to imperfect develop- 
ment of the latter. The genus Vriesia has been reduced to 
Tillandsia, from the typical species of which the present plant 
differs in the form of the inner perianth segments, which are 
not spirally convolute in age. 
Duscr. Stem at the base, as clothed with the leaves, one 
JANUARY lst, 1873. 
