ORCHIDACE^. 



[Endogens 



account of the production of Monachanthus viridis, Myanthus barbatus, and a Catasetum, 

 3 supposed genera, upon the same spike ; and he expressed his opinion that the Catase- 

 tum was the female of these, because he found it producing seeds abundantly, while 

 Monachanthus was uniformly sterile. 



Afterwards a similar specimen made its pp 



appearance in the garden of his Grace 

 the Duke of Devonshh-e at Chatsworth, 

 and has been figured in the Botanical 

 Register, fol. 1951. And still more 

 lately two species of Cycnoches, ventri- 

 cosum and Egertonianum have appeared 

 in company, as represented m the accom- 

 panying figure (CXXII.) 



Such cases shake to the foimdation 

 all our ideas of the stability of genera 

 and species, and prepare the mind for 

 more startling discoveries than could 

 have been otherwise anticipated. 



If the accompanying diagram be com- 

 pared with those employed to illustrate 



the distinctions of Marants and Gingerworts, p. 169, the relation borne to those 

 Orders by Orchids will be distinctly seen. In the diagram the parts are arranged 

 as they are in nature before the ovary twists ; that is, with the lip next the axis, 

 or uppermost, and ^""^ 



the stamen undermost. 

 Let C, C, C represent 

 the outer series of 

 floral envelopes or 

 calyx, and PP, P, P 

 the inner, or corolla, 

 of which PP is the 

 labellum : then the po- 

 sition of the single 

 fertile stamen will be 

 at S, and the sterile 

 ones at s, s ; that is to 

 say, in the situation 

 of the supernumerary 

 petaloid stamens of 

 Gingerworts and Ma- 

 rants, while the second 

 series of stamens, to 

 which the fertile sta- 

 men of these Orders 

 belongs, is not deve- 

 loped in Orchids. 



But although this is 

 the apparent structure 

 of the Order, it is more 

 probable that the parts 

 called sepals are the 

 true petals, because 

 Epistephium and 



others have a calycu- 

 lus exterior to the 

 apparent calyx. In that 



cxxii 



and 



pomt of ^^ew the apparent petals will be sterile stamens, as among the Marants, 

 the nature of the parts will be sho^^Ti by the above projection. 



In classifying this Order the most important characters appear to reside in the pollen, 

 which in many is consohdated into firm waxy masses of a definite number in each spe- 

 cies, and in others is either in its usual loose powdery condition, or is collected in <Tranules 

 or small wedges, the number of which is far too great to be counted. Of those with waxy 

 pollen masses some (:\Ialaxeae) are destitute of any \dsible processes by which the masses 

 are brought into contact with the stigma ; others (Epidendrete) have strap-shaped cau- 



nnfpffn iL"^?- */'•— ^ tji.eoretical projection of all the parts of an Orchid flower, showing what is sup- 

 posea to be their true relative position. 



