Plant terrestrial, solitary, erect or geniculate at the 
base, 2.5-4.5 dm. tall. Stem slender, pubescent with 
whitish articulated hairs, provided with several short tu- 
bular acuminate bracts, 2-8 mm. in diameter. Leaves 
two, basal and subopposite, spreading on the ground, en- 
closed at base by two or more scarious clasping sheaths; 
petiole winged, 2—4.5 cm. long; lamina oblique, elliptic 
to ovate-elliptic, acute to abruptly acuminate, 4.5-11.5 
em. long, 2.7-5.5 cm. wide, succulent, glabrous, silvery 
green and glossy beneath, dark-veined above with a re- 
ticulate pattern over a dull silvery green background. 
Inflorescence a compact terminal raceme of twenty to 
thirty small white flowers which blossom in close succes- 
sion; raceme cylindrical, 2.5-3.5 cm. long, about 2 cm. 
in diameter. Floral bracts white, lanceolate, acuminate, 
5-6 mm. long. Flowers with stout puberulent pedicellate 
ovaries. Sepals ovate-elliptic, narrowly obtuse to suba- 
cuminate, 1- to 2-nerved, concave, 2.5—-3.1 mm. long, 
1.3-1.5 mm. wide; lateral sepals slightly oblique. Petals 
somewhat oblique, linear-lanceolate to narrowly elliptic, 
obtuse, 1-nerved, ciliate with long whitish hairs, finely 
hirsute through the center near the base, 2—2.5 mm. long, 
about 0.7 mm. wide. Lip sessile, subquadrate-ovate, nar- 
rowly obtuse, angled on each side at the base, concave, 
2—-2.5 mm. long, 1.8-1.5 mm. wide; dise adorned with 
somewhat thickened green stripes, with a short central 
stripe, asubhorizontal stripe on each side which converge 
toward the middle and a deeply U-shaped stripe on each 
side near the base. Column short, terete, about 1.5 mm. 
long. 
Cranichis hieroglyphica is most closely related to C. 
Wageneri Reichb.f. However, besides having smaller 
flowers, the floral segments of C. hieroglyphica are com- 
paratively blunt as compared with the narrowly acumi- 
nate floral segments of C. Wageneri. Although the petals 
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