30 



LiELIA majalis. 

 The May-flower Lcelia. 



GYNANDRIA MONANDRIA. 



Nat. ord. OacHtDACEiE. § EpidendrejE. 

 .LJELIA. Lindl. supra, 1839. misc. 42. 



§ 1. Grandiflorse ; Petals distinctly larger than the sepals. 



L. majalis ; folio angusto scapo bifloro eequali, bracteis merabranaceis ovatis, 

 sepalis lanceolatis, petalis oblongo-lanceolatis duplo latioribus, labelli 

 lobo medio rotundato emarginato piano lateralibus parvis obtusis. 



L. majalis, Lindl. in Bot. Reg. 1839. misc. 42. Bateman, Orch. Mex. ^' Guat. 

 t. 23. 



Cattleya Grahami, Lindl. Gen. ^ Sp. Orch. p. 116. 



The history of this charming plant is so well given by Mr. 

 Bateman, that we beg to extract it from his magnificent 

 work on the Orchidacese of Mexico and Guatemala. 



*' This lovely plant abounds in the most temperate parts 

 of Mexico, where its exquisite beauty has rendered it a prime 

 favourite with the natives, from whom it has received the 

 familiar appellation of *Flor de Mayo.* It does not however 

 appear to have been long known to botanists, Dr. Schiede 

 having been the first to send specimens to Europe, which, 

 through the liberality of Professor Schlechtendahl have been 

 extensively distributed. Living plants were first obtained by 

 Mr. Barker from Oaxaca through the instrumentality of Mr. 

 Ross : and more recently, a large supply has been received by 

 the Horticultural Society of London, collected by Mr. Hartweg 

 in San Bartolo, in situations so elevated, that the temperature 

 sometimes falls below the freezing point. This habitat, so 

 unusual for an Orchidaceous plant, will go far to explain the 

 ill success that has hitherto attended its cultivation, for while 

 it is comparatively easy to imitate the close and humid atmos- 

 phere in which most of the tribe are found, it is infinitely more 

 difficult to provide a substitute for the pure air and frequent 

 changes of temperature in which these mountain epiphytes 



Ju7ie, 1844. N 



