49 



CIRRHOPETALUM cliinense. 

 Chinese Cirrhopetalum. 



GYNANDRIA MONANDBIA. 



Nat. ord. OrchidacejE, §. Malaxed. 

 CIRRHOPETALUM. Svpra 1838. ^. 11. 



C. chinense. Supra 1842. misc. 29. 



To what was formerly stated, concerning this singular 

 Chinese plant, in the place above quoted, we have nothing to 

 add, and therefore, instead of repeating those observations, we 

 fill our space with some account of the genus itself and its 

 numerous species. 



Cirrhopetalum is a name proposed in the year 1824 for 

 the Bulbophyllum longiflorum of Du Petit Thenars, a Mauritius 

 plant, remarkable for the great length of its lower sepals. In 

 1825, Professor Reinwardt gave to the same or some nearly 

 allied species the name of Zygoglossum ; but of course Cir- 

 rhopetalum took precedence on account of its priority of date. 

 In 1830 the genus had increased in number of species to six, 

 of which two had not been examined by me. Now, by the 

 discoveries of Mr. Cuming and others, I am able to bring 

 together twenty-one ; of which fourteen have been seen 

 alive, two in a dried state, and five are taken up upon 

 the credit of others. They form a most singular group, and 

 a complete collection of them would be a very interesting 

 feature in a stove. The following is an enumeration of them. 



* Flowers in umbels or racemes. 



1. C. vaginatum (L. no. 3. Bot. Reg. 1842. sub t. 12.); pseudobulbis 

 pyramidatis truncatis, folio oblongo convexo emarginato, vaginis scapi 

 oblongis ventricosis distantibus sepalo supremo ovato inferioribusque 

 longissimis pendulis ciliatis, petalis oblongis ciliatis, labello oblongo 

 bicarinato, columnse auriculis setaceis. Sincapore. C. vaginatum 



October, 1843. x 



