S82 Dr Graham's Description of New or Rare Plants, 



tact with them. Pedicels single-flowered, bent so as to carry the flowers 

 above water, but atler this is passed, straight or curved downwards. Ca- 

 lyx 5-partite, acute, spreadhig, green and dotted sparsely with red, persist- 

 ing, and then closed, and segments approximating at the apices. Corolla 

 pure white, rotate, 5-parted, segments obovate, slightly notched, and 

 crenulate at the apices, divided longitudinally into three nearly equal 

 parts, of which the two lateral are transparent, undulated and glabrous, 

 the centre elevated, more opaque, bearded in longitudinal lines at the 

 apex, and more slightly so at the base ; throat yellow, glandular, the 

 glands yellow, alternate with the stamens, stipitate, shaggy, granular. 

 Stamens 5, yeUow ; filaments as long as the germen, awl-shaped, arising 

 from the base of the corolla, and adhering to it throughout the whole 

 length of the short tube, above which they are connivent ; anthers cor- 

 date, bursting along their edges ; pollen deep yellow. Germen green, 

 ovate, slightly compressed, crowned by the bifid stigma, unilocular. 

 Ovules obovate, about 20, attached to the inside of the germen on each 

 side at the sutures, which are obscurely marked within, and invisible on 

 the outside of the germen. 



This very pretty little aquatic was found by Mr Blair in lakes in Upper 

 Canada, and introduced by him into Mr Cunninghame's garden in 1826. 

 It is no doubt quite hardy, but, from the difficulty of preventing it from 

 floating about, and being accidentally removed with the weeds in clean- 

 ing the pond, it has been kept in the Botanic Garden in a tub which 

 stands in the stove, and there flowers very freely during a great part of 

 summer. 



1 have considerable doubt about the correctness of the specific name and 

 the synonyms quoted; but not at present having an opportunity of con- 

 suiting Ventenat, I think it right to adopt his name till I have. The 

 genus Villarsia is probably naturally distinct from Menyanthes^ but this 

 species shows that the essential generic character requires revision. 



Note In the last Number of this Journal, I described, under the name 



of Cattleya intermedia^ a beautiful plant which flowered at the Botanic Garden, 

 and an admirable and most correct figure of the specimen has appeared under 

 the same name in the Botanical Magazine, t. 2851., the thin, grey, membra- 

 nous sheath of the stem only having been neglected in the colouring. I 

 pointed out its near affinity to C. Forbesii (Bot. Reg. t. 953.), but considered 

 it certainly distinct, especially on account of the very different appearance of 

 the spathe. Subsequently, however, I began to doubt whether I was right, 

 for a specimen flowered with us having the colour, and in some other re- 

 spects the appearance, of C. Forbesii, still, however, retaining the spathe of 

 C. intermedia. Within these few days, I have seen in the possession of Mr 

 Neill a specimen of C. Forbesii from the Chiswick Garden. It has the spathe 

 of our plant ; and as I consider it authority for ascertaining the species of Mr 

 Lindley's, I must believe the figure in Botanical Register faulty, or the plant 

 liable to great variation, and therefore I take the earliest opportunity to state 

 my belief that ours is only a beautiful variety of the same. 



The original specimen has again flowered with us. It retained all its 

 splendid colouring, and produced two flowers, with one or more abortive buds, 

 so that probably it may yet assume a much more magnificent appearance. Is 

 there not some reason to fear, that, in this splendid genus, forms vary very 

 considerably, and that this may not be the only instance in which species and 

 varieties have been confounded ? 



