44 cxxxiii. ORCHiDE^ (rolpe). [MegocUnium, 



long, 1 in. broad ; margin crenulate. Bracts 2 lin. apart, ovate, acute, 

 deflexed and with recurved margins, about 1 in. long. 



nXozaml). Bist. British Central Africa, cultivated specimen ! 



Described from a plant imported by Mr. J. O'Brien. 



A most distinct and remarkable species, whose affinity remains doubtful until 

 fie wers are known. 



7. ANCISTROCHILUS, Rolfe. 



Sepals subequal, spreading, the lateral ones partially united at the 

 base to the very short foot of the column. Petals smaller than the 

 sepals and narrower at the base, otherwise similar. Lip attached to the 

 short foot of the column, subsaccate at the base, strongly 3-lobed ; side 

 lobes erect at the sides of the column, oblong, obtuse ; front lobe 

 narrowly triangular at the base, long attenuate above, recurved, twice as 

 long as the side lobes ; disc with slightly raised lines, the middle one 

 more prominent at the base of the front lobe. Column clavate, rather 

 long, slightly curved ; wings short and rounded ; base extended into a 

 short horizontal foot. Anther operculate, 4 -celled ; pollinia 8, ovoid, 

 united to a single appendage as long as themselves; anther-case 

 apiculate. — An erect herb, with depressed orbicular pseudobulbs, lanceo- 

 late, acute, plicate leaves, and erect 2- to 3-flowered scapes a little shorter 

 than the leaves. 



A curious little monotype, originally referred to the Asiatic genus Pachystoma by 

 Reichenbach, with which, as pointed out in the Botanical Magazine, it neither accords 

 in floral character nor in the structure of the pollinia. It belongs to the same group, 

 but is readily distinguished by the pollinia being united to a single stipitate appendage, 

 as well as by the remarkable lip and spreading segments. The supposed " gland " 

 figured in the Botanical Magazine is only a viscid secretion, and not analogous to the 

 gland of the tribe Vandea, 



1. A, thorns onianus 9 Rolfe. Pseudobulbs seated on a creeping 

 rhizome, orbicular, depressed, nearly 1 in. thick, covered with mem- 

 branous scales. Leaves 1 or 2, lanceolate, acute, plicate, membranous, 

 C-8 in. long. Peduncles 1 or 2 from the base of each pseudobulb, 

 ascending, slender, pubescent, 4-G in. high, 2- to 3-flowered. Bracts 

 ovate-lanceolate, acuminate, sheathing, 5-7 lin. long. Pedicels 7-8 lin. 

 long, pubescent. Flowers large, white with a purple lip. Sepals oblong- 

 lanceolate, acuminate, IJ-lJ in. long. Petals a little shorter than the 

 sepals and narrower at the base. Lip deeply 3-lobed ; side lobes oblong, 

 obtuse, 4-5 lin. long ; front lobe attenuate-linear from a narrow base, 

 9-12 lin. long. Column 7-8 lin. long. — Pachystoma thomsonianum^ 

 Reichb. f. in Card. Chron. 1879, xii. 582, 624, 625, fig. 102, 103 ; 1882, 

 xviii., 501, fig. 87 ; Reichb. f. Xen. Orch. iii. 35, t. 213 ; Bot. Mag. 

 t. 6471 ; Orchidophile, 1882, 427 ; Gartenfl. xxx. 324, t. 1061 ; Will. 

 Orch. Alb. v. t. 220 ; Veitch, Man. Orch, vi. 4, with fig. Ipsea 

 thonisoniaiiaj Pfitz. in Engl. & Prantl, Nat. Pflanzenf. ii. Abth. 6, 154, 

 fig. 158. 



Upper Guinea. Mountains of Old Calabar, on trees, at a moderate elevation, 

 not far from the coast, Kalbreyer, cultivated specimens ! 



