had hardly begun. Up to that year a few collectors had 
visited the Atlantic ports. Carl Thiéme, between 1887 
and 1890, had explored the country around San Pedro 
Sula inthe Department of Santa Barbara. Gaustav Nied- 
erlein in 1898 made a collection of about 459 numbered 
specimens in the vicinity of Tegucigalpa, and H. Pittier 
in 1919 made botanical collections in Copin. But none 
of these men specialized in orchids and their contributions 
to orchidology were inconsiderable. Indeed, they added 
very few species to the list prepared by Hemsley for his 
enumeration. 
Since 1928 our knowledge of the orchid flora of 
Honduras has been rapidly increased. In March 19238, | 
spent about three weeks near the Atlantic coast collecting 
in the Departments of Atlantida, Yoro and Colén where 
I found thirty-five genera and seventy-nine species. In 
1923 and in 1929, Herbert J. Spinden, while conducting 
archiological investigations in the Departments of Colén 
and Copin, collected orchids as a diversion. He redis- 
covered the rare Laeha Wendlandi Reichb.t. and added 
Brassavola cucullata (.) R. Br., Brassia caudata Lindl. , 
Mpidendrum chinense Q.uindl.) Ames and Lpidendrum 
abbreviatum Schitr. to the list of recorded species. In 
1926, Mrs. Elizabeth R. Mitchell made asmall collection 
of plants near Tela, but only two orchids, namely Jonop- 
sis utricularioides Lindl, and Maaillaria tenuifolia Lind. 
ure represented among the specimens | have examined. 
From December 6, 1927 to March 20, 1928, Paul C. 
Standley collected intensively in the Lancetilla Valley’ 
near ‘Tela in the Department of Atlantida, and spent part 
of his time exploring the country around Siguatepeque. 
Standiey found fifty-eight species representing thirty-one 
genera of orchids. In March and April 1931, Marston 
Flora of the Lancetilla Valley, Honduras, in Field Museum of Natural 
History, Botanical Series vol. 10, Publieation 288. (1981) 
[74] 
