128 OECHIDS OF JAMAICA 



eroded, 15-17-nerved, nerves branching, at base on inside 3 nerves promi- 

 nent and oallose, forming the inner walls of two Bhallow pockets, 14 mm. 

 1., about 10 mm.br. Column 5 mm. 1., thicker upwards, wit h a small 

 tooth on each side at tin' base of the olinandrium ; olrnandrium 2*5 mm. 1., 

 with upper margin truncate and eroded; stigma deeply sunk, margin 

 rounded. Cuj'sulc (unripe), 1*5 cm. 1., 5-G mm. br. 



55. BRASSIA R. Br. 



Epiphytic herbs. Stems short, terminated by a pseudobulb 

 with one or two leaves. Leaves under the pseudohulb few or 

 reduced to sheaths, leathery. Peduncles from under the pseudo- 

 bulb simple. Racemes lax, generally few-flowered. Flowers 

 rather large. Bracts short or spathe-like. Sepals free, spreading, 

 narrow, acuminate or tailed, the lateral longer. Petals similar 

 to the median sepal or smaller. Lip sessile at the base of the 

 column, spreading, flat, undivided, shorter than the sepals, at 

 the base 2-lamellate. Column short, erect, not winged, without 

 a foot ; clinandrium hardly prominent, truncate. Anther 

 terminal, opercular, incumbent, very convex or semiglobose, 

 1 -celled; pollinia 2, waxy, obovoid, without an appendage, 

 attached to a flat oblong or linear stalk. 



Species 40, natives of tropical America, from the West 

 Indies and Mexico to Brazil and Peru. 



Lip about 1J in. 1. ; lateral sepals twice as long 1. B. maculata. 



Lip about 1 in. 1. ; lateral sepals 4 or 5 times as long 2. B. caudata. 



1. B. maeulata B. Br. in Ait. Sort. Kew. ed. 2, v. 215 (1813) ; 

 lateral sepals twice as long as the lip ; lip broadly ovate-roundish, 

 acute, contracted into an oblong base ; lamellae tooth-like at 

 apex, hairy at base. Bot. Mag. t. 1691 ; Lindl. Fol. Orch. Brass. 

 1 ; Griseb. Fl. Br. W. Lid. 633 ; Salisb. Ic. ined. vi. fol. 580. 

 B. guttata Lindl. in PI. Hartiv. 94 (1842). B. Wrayse Hook, in 

 Bot. Mag. t. 4003 (1843). (PI. 28, f. 1-6.) 



On rocks and trees ; in fl. April-June, Oct. ; Old England, St. Andrew, 

 Purdie ! Fairfield, Wullschlaegel, 1884 bis ! Oehler ! near Gordon Town, 

 J.P. 6, Morris ! Sullivan ! Harris ! Greenwich, Moore ! near Radnor, 

 Miss B. Gosset ! Dolphin Head, Harris ! Fl. Jam. 10,442. Cuba, 

 Guatemala. 



Plant 1^-2 ft. high. Pseudobulbs large, oblong, sometimes contracted 

 below, compressed, 2-edged, 6-10 cm. 1., 2*5-3"5cm. br. Leaves leathery, 

 broadly ligulate, acute, tapering to base, 10-40 cm. 1., 3-5 cm. br. 

 Peduncle stout, longer than the leaves, with a few distant sheathing 

 bracts, 3*5-6 dm. 1., with 7-14 flowers. Bracts, sterile sheathing, obtuse, 

 distant, 12-20 mm. 1. ; floral triangular, acute, much shorter than ovary, 

 6-10 mm. 1. Flowers large, yellowish-green with brown or purple spots ; 

 lip, yellowish-white, I5-IJ in. 1., sepals 2-3 in. 1. Sepals narrowly linear- 

 lanceolate, 4-5-7*5 cm. 1., 4-6 mm. br. Petals similar to sepals 3-4 cm. 1., 

 4-5 mm. br. Lip 3*5-4 cm. 1., 2*5-3 cm. br. ; lamellee yellow, 5-6 mm. 1. 

 Column 5-6 mm. 1., green. 



