18 



BRASS1A Lawrenceana. 

 Mrs. Lawrence's Brassia. 



GYNANDRIA MONANDRIA* 



Nat. ord. Orchidace.e, § Vande^e. 



BRASSIA. Botanical Register, vol. 21. fol. 1754. 



B. Lawrenceana ; sepalis lateralibus elongatis, labello oblongo apice lanceo- 

 late subundulato : callo baseos sirnplici canaliculate* truueato pubescente. 



Perhaps no genus of the Orehidaceous order is more worth 

 cultivation than Brassias, for, without a single exception, they 

 are handsome, and very easy to manage ; most of them too are 

 sweet-scented. But they are difficult to distinguish from each 

 other, especially those which, like the species now figured, 

 have the lateral sepals much lengthened out. 



At first sight, in examining this, one would refer it to B, 

 macrostachya ; but the sepals are not half so long, and the 

 tumour at foot of the lip is simple and truncated, not sloping 

 forward, and supported by three advanced tubercles. 



In like manner B. Lanceana, which agrees with it in the 

 truncated tumour, has two tubercles in front of it, and its 

 lateral sepals are much shorter. When dried the sepals of 

 B. Lawrenceana become bright brown, while those of B. Lan- 

 ceana remain pale yellow. 



Finally, B. caudata has the lip of quite a different form. 



We are informed by Mrs. Lawrence that the species is a 

 native of Brazil. It has very sweet-scented flowers. 



Fig. 1. represents the hairy tumour at the base of the lip. 



Like the other species this requires the heat of the stove, 

 and should be treated in the same manner as Brassia maculata. 



