1986 



* MAXILLARIA Steelii. 

 Mr. Steel's Maxillana. 



GYNANDRIA MONAMiRIA. 



Nat. ord. Orchidace^, § Vande*;. 

 MAXILLARIA. SuprA, vol. W. fol. 997. 



M. Steelii ; caule pendulo iiauo ramose squamato : ramulis monophyllis, foliis 

 longissimis flagelliformibus canaliculatis, floribus solitaiiis axillaribiis, scpalls 

 petalisque oblongis obtusiusciilis, labello trilobo, lobis lateraUbus erectis 

 rotundatis : intermcdii bilobi laciniis rotuiidatis subcuneatis divergentibus 

 callo baseos elevato apice obtuse tridentato. 

 M. Steelii. Hooker in hot. mag. t. 3.''i73. 



Folia 3-4 pedes longa, apice subulata. Flores flnvi, maculis atro-pttr- 

 pureis irregularibus tigrini ; labellam potiiLS interrupte venosum quam miicu- 

 latum. CoKinina semiteres. Pollinia 4, in glandiilam transversum utrinque 

 aristatam sessilia, per parin distinctn glandules agglutinata. 



A native of Demerara, where it would seem to be common if we are 

 to judge from the large quantity of it that has been introduced within 

 these two last years. When it first came over I called it Maxillaria 

 flagellifera, in allusion to the thong-like leaves, and under that name it 

 exists in many collections ; but the name not having been published must, 

 of course, give way to that oiM. Sfeelii, under which it was first described, 

 in May last, by Sir W. Hooker. 



It is not only a very remarkable plant on account of the strange 

 appearance of the leaves, but really a beautiful species, as must be obvious 

 from the accompanying figure taken in September, 1836, from a plant in 

 the possession of Messrs. Loddiges. 



It has no very obvious affinity with any known species ; but the truth 

 is that we know as yet so little of the genus, which no doubt abounds in 

 species, that the determination of affinity is of no great importance. 

 The most useful thing to do at present is to describe the species, and 

 when the means of doing so are more exhausted it will be time enough to 

 think of their final arrangement. As a contribution to this labour I take 

 the present opportunity of noticing the following. 



M. Rollissonii ; acaulis, pseudobulbis subrotundis compressis subbifoliis, foliis 

 oblongo-lanceolatis acutis apice recurvis, scapis unifloris diffusis lax6 ^agi- 

 natis unifloris, sepalis carinatis lateralibus basi subsequalibus petalisque 



* See folio 1428. 



