ORCniDEJE. 187 



Tribe VI. NEOTTE.E. 

 Of this section, iiltluniuli we have several genera in Burma, I must restrict 

 myself to the nioutiou of two — J/oiiockilits and Anmctochilm. 



iloxocniLus, Wall. 



These two genera, although terrestrial, may be almost said to be also epipliytal, 

 for tliey rest but lightly upon decayed leaves and sticks, together with whicll "they 

 may be lifted, having no real attachment to the soil. They are small plants, but 

 a few inches high, "with a thick nodose succulent rhizome, or root-stock, of 1 or 2 

 inches in Icngtli, one end of which tui-ns up and becomes the flower-stem, and from 

 the uudcr-side of which issue small rootlets attaching them to the decayed vegetation. 

 Their flowers, though botanically interesting, are of no beauty — their attraction lies 

 in their leaves, some of which are extremely lov('ly, both for their colouiing and 

 the exquisite veining on their upper surface. They are much prized in England, 

 and are carefully grown in hot-houses under bell-glasses, as they require an atmo- 

 sphere abundantly charged ^^■ith moisture to keep them alive. This is the reason 

 that they cannot endure the plains in Burma, but ati'ect the mountains, where the 

 air is cooler and the atmosphere much more moist all the year round. I must have 

 seen several species, but they nearly all slipped through my fingers, on account of the 

 difficulty of preserving them alive in my luirried mountain journeys. Hundreds of 

 beautiful things of the frail, succulent sort, not Orchids only, but other flowering 

 plants, await discovery by the happy man who shall only have the opportunitv and 

 the resolution to pass a rainy season in the mountains. Among the most beautiful 

 species known are MonocJiilits reyiun, a Cc}"lon plant, possibly to be found in Biinua ; 

 and Anredochilus seiaccus and Dawsoniunns, which are found in its forests. Species 

 ascertained of the two genera about 6 or 7. " Jilviioc/iihcs ditt'ers from Aixcctocliilus iu 

 the absence of a spur, and in the adhesion of the lip to the column.'' — Lindlcy. 



B. Anthers two. 



Tribe VII. CYPRirEDE-J}:. 



CrpRirEDruM, L. 



The plants of this last tribe differ remarkably in their fertilising apparatus from 

 the rest of the order. I shall confine my remarks, however, to one genus, viz. 

 Ctjpripediuin, as I am wholly unacquainted with the other two or three genera 

 which go to complete the ti'ibe. We have no longer a lid-like or operculate anther 

 here, as in our old familiar acquaintances Dendrohiitm and Vanda, nor an erect rigid 

 anther opening by two slits as in Ilabenaria, no more pollen-masses of the ordinary 

 type, waxy or granular, free or attached to stipes or gland, and always easily detached 

 from the column ; but something wholly different. As you look into the flower, all 

 you will probably see is a large flat fleshy appendage to which you cannot give a name. 

 If you want to examine the mysteries of the interior, you must open the flower and 

 look behind this same appendage. Then all that is to be seen will be revealed. The 

 structure is as follows : Theoretically there are 3 anthers, though practically, or 

 apparently, only 2. "The column is short, bearing 2 perfect anthers" (llie 2 rounded 

 bodies visible beneath), " one on each side of the rostellum or style ; the dorsal anther 

 (the only one in other Orchidcas) is here usually reduced to a variously sha])cd liarrcn 

 staminodium" (the aforementioned strange appendage); "the rostellum or style 

 is more or less prominent or elongated between the lateral anthers, and dilated' 

 at the end into a more or less obliciuc stigma." — lientliam. The genus is not confined 

 to tropical regions, but extends into the colder temperate parts of the world, being 

 found in Europe and N. Anu'rica. The species found in the latter are terrestrial, 

 those in the former mostly epiphytal. Species 3. 



C. CONXOLOK. 



A dwarf terrestrial species. Leaves 5 or 0, or more, ovate, oblong, blunt, beautifully 

 mottled above, with two shades of giecn, purple underneath, 4-5 inches long. 

 Flower-stalk short, purple, 2-llo\vcred ; with a huge bract at the base of the germ. 



