PLEUROTHALLIS 55 



florum Sw. in Nov. Act. Upsal. vi. 83 (1799) & Fl. Ind. Occ. 1543. 

 Type in Herb. Mus. Brit. 



On trees and rocks; in fl. Aug. -Nov., in fr. throughout the year; 

 Swart z ! Macfadyen ! Mt. Moses, 2500 ft., J.P. 2073 (in part), Syme I 

 Blue Mts., J.P. 2073 (in part), Morris ! John Crow Peak, Moore ! Vinegar 

 Hill, Sherringl Cinchona, 5000 ft.; Morse's Gap; Old England; Harris ! 

 Fl. Jam. 7685, 7818. Cuba. 



Plant 5 to 12 in. high. Stems to 10 cm. 1., 2 mm. br., with two 

 developed internodes, clustered, terete at the base, compressed and angular 

 above; sheaths, upper about 4 cm. 1., loose, brown, membranous, longi- 

 tudinally striate, widening considerably towards the mouth. Leaf generally 

 about as long as the stem, blade 5 -5-9 cm. 1., l*5-2 - 8 cm. br. ; oval- 

 oblong, narrowed at the base into a short stalk (1 crn. or less). Racemes 

 14-24 cm. 1., with 10-12 flowers in two rows, lax; spathe 1*5-3 cm. 1., 

 compressed, obtuse. Bracts 4-7 mm. 1., slightly shorter than the pedicels, 

 scarious, ovate, obtuse, sheathing at base. Flowers about in. 1., magenta- 

 coloured. Sepals 7-10 mm. 1., connivent, concave, lanceolate, median 

 2 mm. br., lateral 4*5 mm. br. Petals 4 mm. 1., 2 mm. br., less than half 

 as long as the sepals, oval, narrowed at the base, apex round, crenulate, 

 3-nerved. Lip longer than the petals, clawed, limb 4 mm. 1., 1*5 mm. br., 

 concave, disk 3-keeled, elliptical, apex obtuse, triangular. Column scarcely 

 equalling the petals; clinandrium shortly 3-fid. Capsule 7-9 mm. L, 

 oblong. 



3. P. gelida Lindl. in Bot. Beg. xxvii. Misc. 91 (1841) 

 racemes two together, marry-flowered, a little shorter than leaf, 

 enclosed by large leathery spathe ; sepals white, gibbous, lateral 

 often i-connate ; lip undivided. Lindl. Fol. Orch. Bleuroth. 4 

 (1859); Griseb. op. cit. 607; Kranzl. in Xen. Orchid. Hi. 116, 

 t. 267, II. (1900). Cogn. op. cit. 399. P. univaginata Lindl. 

 in Ann. & Mag. Nat. Hist. ser. 3, i. 326 (1858) & Fol. Orch. 

 Bleuroth. 4 ; Griseb. loc. cit. ; Cogn. op. cit. 398. 



On trees in rockv woodland ; in fl. Dec. ; Manchester, Purdie ! Iron 

 Face, Chester Vale, 3500 ft., Harris ! Fl. Jam. 7836. Cuba, Porto Rico. 



Plant often 1J ft. high. Stems clustered, about 3 mm. thick near the 

 base ; 2-jointed ; sheath above the base of the stem somewhat compressed, 

 membranous, blunt, to 8*5 cm. 1. Leaf elliptical, 18-25 cm. 1., including 

 stalk (3-4 cm.), 4-5*5 cm. br. Racemes '12-14 cm. 1., with 16-20 secund 

 flowers; spathe 1*5-2 cm. 1. Bracts barely 2 mm. 1., short, obtuse. 

 Flowers nearly | in. 1., pale yellow. Sepals 7 mm. 1., erect, forming a 

 cup, subelliptic, obtuse, with short hairs on the inside. Petals 3 5 mm. 1., 

 subovate. Lip 2*5 mm. 1., widening above to a broad rounded apex, 

 bearing two wing-like keels on the upper face which do not reach the 

 apex, with two teeth in the middle of each side. Column less than 

 2 mm. 1., with a minute tooth on each side at the apex. Capsule ellipsoidal, 

 3-ribbed. 



Lindley says of P. univaginata, "very like the last" (P. gelida), 

 " but distinguished by the state of the sepals and form of the lip." 

 Examination of the type specimens in Lindley's herbarium and of other 

 available material leads to the conclusion that we are dealing with only 

 one species. The degree of union of the lateral sepals varies somewhat, 

 while the hairs to which Lindley refers in his description " sepalis intus 

 pilosis," are present to a very slight extent in the type specimen ; the form 

 of the lip is the same in both, the two median wing-like keels being present, 

 though Lindley says of univaginata, "labello ecarinato." 



