SACOOLABITJM LONGIFOLIUM, &C. 81 



is continued down the sac as a yellow, hairy, slightly elevated 

 ridge. The edge of the lip is irregularly incised or fimbriate. 

 The side lobes of the lip are strongly hairy on their inner 

 surface, and are usually barred with purple on the inner 

 surface, but not on the outer. The apex of the spur is yellow 

 from the first. The inflorescence is crowded on a stout 

 peduncle about 2 cm. long. It has a strong odour of vanilla. 



Wight's figure of S. Wightianum (Icones, t. 1670) appears 

 to show a tomentose lip, which, as noted by Lindley, bears two 

 transverse subulate processes near the base. - It is probable 

 that these are errors of reproduction, the apparent processes 

 being the transverse purple bars, and the tomentose appear- 

 ance an attempt to represent the tubercular surface of the 

 lip. ■ 



For some time I have had Saccolabium Wightianum mider 

 observation at Peradeniya. In three successive years it has 

 flowered in May-Jime, not in September, as given in Flora 

 Ceylon. The inflorescence lasts for a long time, one of six or 

 nine flowers persisting for four weeks. The lips begin to turn 

 yellow from the third to the fiifth day, but I have never seen an 

 inflorescence which had the lips of all the flowers yellow at the 

 same time. As a rule, the lower flowers have decayed, before 

 the lip of the uppermost has changed colour. For example, 

 two inflorescences, one of nine and the other of six flowers, 

 began to flower on May 27, 1917. On June 4 there were four 

 flowers with white lips in the former and one in the latter, the 

 remaining five in each case being yellow. On June 16 there 

 was still one white -Hpped flower in each inflorescence, but the 

 outer flowers had begun to decay. On the same date. May 27, 

 ^n inflorescence of ten flowers had seven with yellow lips and 

 three with white lips ; the last flower changed colour on June 9, 

 but there were then only three flowers left, the remainder 

 having decayed. 



Saccolabium longifolium. 



The figure of Saccolabium longifolium, 0. P. 3492, in Herb. 

 Peradeniya, shows leaves 16-17 cm. long, 3 "5 cm. broad, 

 somewhat narrowed towards the tip . The tip is deeply incised, 

 but the lobes are practically equal . On the herbarium specimen 



