24 



23. SCELOCHILUS Ottonis. 

 Klotzsch in Allgem. Gartenz. 1841. Aug. 14. 



Under this name has been published the following account 

 of a new plant of the Orchidaceous order, which has flowered 

 in the Berlin Garden. It appears to be very near Pleuro- 

 thallis. 



" SCELOCHILUS, Klotzsch. Perigonii foliola exteriora conniventia, cari- 

 nata, basi leviter coalita, lateralia labello supposita, usque ad apicem 

 connata, ad basia in calcav obtusum producta ; interiora exterior! postico 

 sequalia. Labelluui integrum, inferne attenuatum, basi bifidura, infra 

 basin columna obsolete continuum, ad marginem infra medium bicorne, 

 disco calloso, puberulo, antice bidentato, dentibus obtusis coiMiiventibus. 

 Columna semiteres, apice subemarginata. Anthera unilocularis. Pol- 



linia 2, solida, sphserica. Herba caracasana, epiphyta ; rhizomate 



caespitoso ; pseudobulbis subnullis ; foliis solitariis, coriaceis, carinatis, 

 basi vaginis squamseformibus, conduplicatis involucratis ; racemo radi- 

 cali ; floribus compressis flavidis. 



"S. Ottonis, w.&^. Foliis oblongis, coriaceis, laete-viridibus, raargine acutis, 

 subundulatis, apice conduplicato-acutissimis, recurvis ; racemo radicali, 

 subramoso, folio parum longiore ; foliolis perigonii interioribus oblongis, 

 obtusis, intus purpureo-striatis, sparsimve pubescentibus." 



'* This small Epiphyte has, with the exception of the flowers, 

 entirely the structure of Oncidium earth aginense, but the 

 leaves are only five inches long and one inch and a half 

 broad. The flower spike is a little branched, slightly longer 

 than the leaf, round, thread-like, smooth, and covered with 

 sessile, dry, membranaceous, lanceolate and acuminate bracts. 

 The flowers are short-stalked, yellow, compressed, 7 liii* long. 

 The column is without colour, twice as short as the floral 

 envelopes. It was introduced in the year 1840 into the 

 Botanic Garden of Berlin by Mr. Edward Otto. He disco- 

 vered it on his journey upon the Silla of Caracas, where he 

 found it ^COO feet above the level of the sea, in thick woods, 

 on the trunks of trees. It does not require a very hot tem- 

 perature, as the thermometer, in the elevation where it grows, 

 seldom rises above 72^° Fahr. ; it seems, likewise, to prefer 

 the shade to the sun. It developed its small yellow flowers 

 for the first time in the month of July." 



24. CATASETUM abruptum. 

 Hooker in Bot, Mag. t. 39^9. 

 This is certainly identical with Catasetum luridum. 



