10] 
female. Rostellum in the male prolonged below into a pair of 
slender cirrhi, called the antennae. 
i, Myanthus, Rolfe (genus of Lindl.).—Lip inferior in the 
male, not palente, more or less expanded, sometimes fringed ; 
superior and galeate in the female. Rostellum in the male pro- 
fonged below into a pair of — cirrhi 
i. Ecirrhosae, Holfe.—Lip ae in the in 
Myonton: but more or less sacnat Rostellum not AGEL into 
eirrhi. Female unknown. 
y. Pseudocatasetum, Rolfe.—Lip deeply, saccate in the male, 
tae r or inferior. Rostellum not prolonged into cirrhi, 
Female, where known, much larger than the male, “with galeate lip. 
The mechanism of propulsion of the pollinia by means of the 
sensitive antennae was fully explained by Darwin, and the method 
of fertilisation in C. tridentatum was afterwards described an 
illustrated by Criiger (Journ. Linn, Soe. viii. p. 127, t. 9), who was 
le to observe the species in Trinidad, where it is common. The 
visiting insect is described as a “large humble-bee, noisy and 
quarrelsome,”’ which visits the flowers of both sexes for the purpose of 
gnawing some cellular tissue in the interior of the sac. . On visiting 
the male ote ‘the pollen masses are thrown on to the back of the 
insect, and Criiger had often seen them flying about with this 
peculiar looking “ornament on them, On subsequently visiting the 
male flower the pollinia were caught by the upper margin of the 
iphiatie cavity, and were left behind on the retreat of the insect. 
The function of the sensitive antennae in the sections Eucatasetum’ 
and Myanthus is thus apparent, but these organs are not developed 
in the more primitive Ecirrhosae and Pseudocatasetum, so that some 
other mechanism must be available, which it would be interesting to 
wor 
Catasetum Darwinianum was described in 1889 (Rolfe in Gard. 
Chron., 1889, v. p. 394), the plant having flowered at Kew in the 
peru autumn and was at first identified with C: Cligs chided! 
by Lindle from ap lant of unrecorded origin which produced 
female flowers only at Syon House, in 1841, and was Se Se 
ost. ew plant was obtained from Messrs. San t 
flowers of darker colour. A painting, entire size, of ‘os plant was 
made for the Kew ation “aes a reduced figure was given in the 
paper above mentioned (Rolfe in Journ. Linn. Soe., xxvii. p. 218, 
t. 8), with flowers of both sie testers size, and dissections. The 
species was named in compliment to the great naturalist, _— was 
not one of those investigated by him. 
It may be added that the females of some 20 species are now 
known, representing perhaps a third of the genus, so that there is- 
plenty. of scope for those who may be able to raga the plants in 
their native wilds or Wi cultivate them at hom It is greatly to 
be desired that ue blank in our —— sisal be filled up. 
28996 A 2 
