On two previous occasions (in Hutch. & Dalz. FI. 
West Trop. Afr. 2 (1986) 432 and in Bull. Mise. Inform. 
Kew 1989, pp. 495, 496) I have found it necessary to re- 
duce supposedly distinct species to P. tessellata. Careful 
examination of all the African species belonging to sect. 
Hupolystachya indicates that the various species cited 
above are conspecific. The original specimen of Reichen- 
bach’s P. similis is quite distinct, the lip being devoid of 
the keel characteristic of P. tessellata, but the specimen 
figured by Bolus and several of those cited by him and 
by Rolfe do not agree with the type and are obviously 
P. tessellata. 
Kraenzlin states that in P. lepidantha the interior of 
the flower is covered with scales of a type found nowhere 
else in the genus. In spite of very careful examination 
of the type specimen with a powerful binocular micro- 
scope, I have been unable to discover any sort of scales. 
I can only conclude that Kraenzlin’s impression of silvery 
scales was produced by reflections from the ‘‘bullations’’ 
or ‘‘tessellations’’ which are so characteristic of the sepals 
of this species. Actually the inner surfaces are perfectly 
smooth with no outgrowths of any kind. 
As aresult of my researches P. tessellata is now known 
to occur in Upper Guinea (French Guinea to Cameroons 
Mountain), the islands in the Gulf of Guinea (Fernando 
Po, St. Thomas, Annobon), French Equatorial Africa 
(French Cameroons, Gabon, Oubangui-Chari), Uganda, 
Belgian Congo, southern Tanganyika Territory, Angola, 
Northern Rhodesia, Mozambique, Natal and eastern 
Cape Province. 
The differences between P. tessellata on the one hand 
and P. rufinula Reichb.f. and P. zanguebarica Rolfe on 
the other are very small and are doubtfully of specific 
value. Unfortunately the country of origin of both these 
latter species is very doubtful, since, although said to come 
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