v.] REMARKABLE LEAVES. 93 
should remain unknown for thirty-six years after its 
first discovery, yet such was the case. It was first 
discovered by Haenke in 1801. “Father la Cueva 
and Haenke were together in a gzvogue upon the Rio 
Mamoré, one of the great tributaries of the Amazon 
river, when they discovered in the marshes, by the 
side of the stream, a flower which was so surpassingly 
beautiful and extraordinary, that Haenke, in a trans- 
port of admiration, fell on his knees and expressed 
aloud his sense of the power and magnificence of the 
Creator in His works” (D’Orbigny). But the first 
specimens seen in Europe were received in Paris 
from M. D’Orbigny in 1828. These were discovered 
in the river Parana in Guiana. In 1832 it was 
again found in some tributaries of the Amazon by a 
German traveller, and yet it was not until 1837 that 
public attention was called to it, when Sir Robert 
Schomburgk discovered it in the Berbice river, Bri- 
tish Guiana. Ina letter to the Royal Geographical 
Society he described the largest specimen he met 
with, the dimensions of which he gave as six feet 
five inches across the leaf, with a rim five or six 
inches high, and flowers a foot and a quarter across. 
Since then living specimens have been received in 
this country, and so successfully grown that it has 
reached a larger size even than it attains in its native 
habitats. Splendid specimens may be seen at Kew, 
where it attracts considerable attention. 
And now we think we have almost exhausted the 
amount of space we can spare for the consideration 
of remarkable leaves and flowers; but before ending 
our chapter we must take some passing notice of a 
