79 



with soot. The sepals and petals are spotted, oblong, acute, 

 and reflexed, so as to hang downwards. The lip, on the 

 other hand, is fleshy, hooded, stained with pale purple, and 

 either entire at the margin, or very slightly serrated ; but it 

 does not cover over the column as is usual in the hooded 

 Catasetums : on the contrary it spreads away at almost right 

 angles. The column itself is short, deep green, and pro- 

 duced at the point into a straight bristle, in front of which is 

 placed a small and imperfect anther. In this masquing 

 genus it is impossible to say what is a species and what is 

 not. Judging by rules found good in other genera this is 

 quite distinct from all species previously described ; judging 

 from the evidence we possess concerning C. tridentatum, cris- 

 tatum, and viride, we should suspect it to be a male form of 

 C. atratum, or some such species. That, however, must 

 remain for future enquiry. 



169. DENDROBIUM secundum. Botanical Register, t. 1291. 



A specimen of this pretty plant, which has recently 

 flowered with Mr. Knight of the King's Road, has given me 

 an opportunity of examining its structure carefully, and it 

 proves so remarkable as to deserve especial notice. In the 

 first place the lateral sepals and the base of the lip are so 

 united into a spur, that their separate nature is entirely con- 

 cealed towards the point of the spur. In the next place the 

 rostellum is a deep two-lobed lip curved down over the stig- 

 matic surface. The pollen-masses are in two pairs, and deep 

 purple; and, which is extremely curious, they lie upon a loose 

 hard transverse crustaceous gland, which seems to replace 

 the gland and caudicula of Vandese, and which projects be- 

 yond the anterior edge of the anther, resting upon the two- 

 lobed rostellum. The anther-bed itself is deeply excavated, 

 and three-lobed, the anther adhering to the back lobe which 

 is the narrowest. 



170. LOBELIA pyramidalis. Wall. DeCand. Prodr. 7. 381. 



A herbaceous plant from the Himalayas of no beauty. 

 It has narrow, lanceolate, finely serrated leaves, and greenish- 

 violet flowers, so embosomed among long green leafy bracts 



