80 NAT. ORDER. BROMELIACE/E. 



distant, solitary, sessile, and half invested by the rich, red, in- 

 flated bracteas ; the divisions of the calyx are ovate-oblong, mem- 

 branaceous, of a yellowish gi-een tipped with blue, and scarcely 

 half as long as the corolla ; the petals are linear, of a yellowish 

 green, with a blue, obtuse, revolute apex, having at the base two 

 fimbricated, nectariferous scales ; the anthers are versatile ; the 

 ovary is inferior, smooth, three-cornered, and three-celled. 



This plant, which is no less singular than beautiful in its ap- 

 pearance, was introduced to this country several years ago, and is 

 now raised in some of our principal hot-houses, as a rare ornament, 

 but is by no means common in collections. It is a native of Rio 

 Janeiro, where, like other epiphytic plants, it may be seen growing 

 upon the trunks and branches of trees, which, in tropical climates, 

 are thus frequently adorned with hues and odors not their own. 

 The genus Billhergia was originally founded by Thunberg, and 

 has been adojjted by Dr. Lindley, as embracing some species for- 

 merly included in BromeUa, but which appears to differ from that 

 genus in certain peculiarities of structure. 



The natural order Bi'OJneliacece, to which Billbersia belongs, 

 contains altogether about twenty genera, one of which, Ananassa, 

 (the Pine-apple,) is remarkable for its well-known rich, fleshy 

 fruit. No other species can boast of the same interest. The 

 plants of this order are all very peculiar in their habit : many of 

 the species have the power of existing without water, and even 

 without soil ; hence, it is not unusual for the inhabitants of South 

 America to suspend in their apartments such of the species as are 

 remarkable, either for the brilliancy of their colors, or the delicacy 

 of their fragrance ; they are not only suspended in their dwellings 

 and chambers, but attached to the balustrades of the balconies, in 

 which situation they flower abundantly, filling the air with their 

 sweet-scented odor. The genus iridifolia is a stove-plant peren- 

 nial ; it requires a strong heat to grow it fine, and should have 

 a rather limited supply of water during the winter months. The 



