6-i NEW PLANTS, ETC., 



membranous. The corolla wlieii expanded is half an inch long, 

 fimnel-shaped, downy, witli a spreading border of 5 convex ovate 

 blunt equal lobes, bej'ond whose tube extend 4 smooth filaments. 



The plant is distinguishable from Abelia chinensis of Brown, 

 by its want of involucre, smooth leaves, and not trichotomous 

 flowers ; and from tiie Abelia serrata of Zuccarini and Siebold, 

 by its 5-leaved calyx. 



It has hitlierto been treated as a greenhouse plant, but will 

 probably prove hardy enough to stand out of doors in mild 

 winters. The soil which appears most suitable is rough sandy 

 loam, mixed with a little peat. Being of free growth, an ample 

 supply of water is necessary during the summer season. In 

 winter nothing different from the general treatment of green- 

 house plants is required. It is propagated from cuttings of 

 young wood, in the usual way. 



From its being sweet scented, and the length of time it remains 

 in flower, tliis will be of considerable importance as a green- 

 house plant ; and should it prove hardy, it will doubtless be a 

 good addition to the shrubbery in consequence of its flowering 

 in autumn. 



August 18, 1845. 



5. Cattleya Maxima. Lindley, Gen. ^- Sp. Orch., p. 116. 



Received from Mr. Hartweg July 2, 1842. He found it 

 on rocks and trees near Rio Grande de Melacatos, in 

 Equatorial America. 



The pseudo-bulbs are from 6 to 8 inches long, compressed, 

 and considerably thicker at the upper than the lower end, with a 

 few sliallow furrows on each side. The leaves are single, of the 

 same length, very regularly oblong, and rather concave until they 

 become old. The flowers are 7 inches across, and two in num- 

 ber, on the end of a peduncle a few inches longer than a 

 compressed pale green spathe ; but Mr. Hartweg reports that 

 they are really much larger, and grow as many as 4 or 5 in a 

 cluster. When they first expanded they were of nearly the same 

 colour as those of Cattleya intermedia, but after some days the 

 colour brightened and deepened till at last it was equal to that 

 of Cattleya labiata. The sepals are lanceolate and convex ; the 

 lateral ones twisted and turned backwards ; the dorsal one still 

 more convex, and curved gracefully upwards from the base of 

 the column. The petals are about 2 inches broad, spreading for- 

 wards on each side of the lip, and after a time become beautifully 

 painted with purple veins. The lip is about 3 inches long, un- 

 divided ; at tlie lower half flat and channelled, so that its edges 

 meet over the column and form a ridge thei-e ; the anterior half 



