ORCHIDACE.E 



which terminate the narrow leathery leaves are bristle-like and 

 about 0.5 mm. in length. The type specimen is made up of four 

 well-developed plants and several fragments. 



While the generic characters of this plant may have been 

 incorrectly diagnosed on account of its unusual floral conforma- 

 tion, its affinities with the species of Brachionidium Lindl. (a 

 nearly allied genus) are not clear, and its agreement with the 

 generic characters of Pleurothallis R. Brown — a somewhat 

 heterogeneous group — is equivocal. Except for the structure of 

 the column, one might readily place the plant in Brachionidium 

 on the strength of the brief characterization published byLind- 

 ley in F'olia Orchidacea. For the present, at least, I prefer to place 

 it in the genus Stelis because of its agreement with Reichen- 

 bach's Stelis lancilabris and its lack of agreement with any of 

 the species known to me in the other genera mentioned. As 

 R. A.Rolfe has stated {Memoirs of the Tori^ey Botanical Club, 4: 

 261), the groups designated by Lindley as the Monostachyte 

 and Polystachyse cannot be retained, as the traits which distin- 

 guish them are not constant even for the same species. 



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