450 ORCHIDS. 
flowers are produced during the summer months. Syn. 
Bletia Thomsoniana. 
S. tibicinis.—The largest, the best-known, and probably 
the handsomest, of the genus. The pseudo-bulbs are rft. to 
t}ft. long, hollow, tapering from the bottom upwards, their 
curious structure giving rise to the popular name of ‘‘Cow- 
horn Orchid.” In a wild state the plants are usually 
occupied by swarms of ants. The leaves are two, some- 
times three, in number, oblong, leathery, and produced 
near the top of the pseudo-bulb. The raceme is terminal, 
4ft. to 8ft. high, bearing numerous flowers on the upper 
part ; the flowers are 3}in. across, the sepals and narrower 
petals prettily undulated, narrowly oblong; the outside is 
pale purple, the inside crimson-purple, reddish brown towards 
the tips; the side lobes of the lip are orange, streaked with 
purple, white at the margin, the small middle lobe being 
white, with purple veins; there is, however, considerable 
variation in colour and size, the form just described being 
sometimes distinguished as grandiflora. A smaller-flowered 
variety is in cultivation, with blossoms 2in. in diameter, the 
side lobes of the lip rosy, and the front lobe a purer white. 
A native of Honduras; introduced in 1834. The flowers 
appear in summer. Syn. Epidendrum tibicints. 
Plate (for which we are indebted to the Editor of the 
‘Gardeners’ Chronicle’’); Botanical Magazine, t. 4476. 
