OXLVIIL ORCHIDE^. (J. D. Hooker.) 795 



SIKKIM HIMALAYA, Griffith's Collectors (Kew Distrib. 5115, E. alba?), alt. 

 5-6000 ft., J. D. H. 



Pseudobulbs short or elongated into a naked or sheathed vermiform cylindric 

 stem, 5-6 in., and as thick as a pencil, at first sheathed. Leaves 4-6 in., subovate, 

 rigid. Spike shorter ; flowers glabrous, white ; mentum rounded ; lip very variable 

 as to ridges, &c. ; its spreading and recurved side lobes are a good character. A 

 drawing (in Herb. Hort. (Me.) of a Sikkim plant which may be a form of this has 

 small side lobes of the lip pointing upwards, a ridge on the centre only of the midlobe, 

 and two calli ? between the side lobes. The habit is entirely that of graminifolia. 



38. E. Anderson!, Hook. f. Ic. Plant, ined.; leaves 2 narrowly 

 linear-lanceolate, spike suberect stout pubescent, bracts large broadly 

 ovate or ovate-lanceolate revolute, lateral sepals triangular ovate acuminate, 

 mentum broadly conical obtusse, petals oblong-lanceoiate acute, lip obovate, 

 side lobes short erect, midlobe orbicular, disk with 2 median ridges, column 

 short. 



SIKKIM HIMALAYA; at Darjeeling, T. Anderson (Ic. in Herb. Calcutt.). 



Pseudobulbs 2-5 in., cylindrio, striate. Leaves 4-6 in. Spike much shorter 

 than the leaves, rather dense-fld. ; bracts |-f in., green; ovary ^ in., sessile, tomen- 

 tose; lateral sepals in., pinkish ; lip purplish, midlobe yellow. Described from two 

 drawings in Herb. Hort. Calcutt. 



39. E. excavata, Lindl. in Wall. Cat. 1974 (in part] ; leaves 4-6 

 narrow strongly nerved, scape shorter and spikes pubescent, bracts 

 lanceolate, sepals % in. ovate-lanceolate falcate, petals 5-nerved, mentum 0, 

 lip short sessile with 3 central crenate ridges, side lobes basal ovate obtuse 

 spreading, midlobe large suborbicular or obovate or transverse, column 

 very short broad, foot deeply excavate. HooTc. f. Ic. PI. t. 1846. E. 

 excavata, in part, Lindl. G-en. 8f Sp. Orchid. '67. E. sphaerochila and 

 E. flava, var. rubida, Lindl. in Journ. Linn. Soc. iii. 54, 49. Octomeria exca- 

 vata, Wall. mss. 



NEPAL, WallicTi. SIKKIM and KHASIA MTS., alt. 4-6000 ft., J. D. H. 



Pseudobulbs 1-2 in., ovoid or subcylindric, never much elongate. Leaves 5- 

 6 in., sessile, rigid, lanceolate. Spike few-fld. ; very short pedicel with ovary 

 |~| in.; flowers white, lip yellow with pink side lobes and very strong purple nerves, 

 base saccate. The only species of this group with basal spreading side lobes of the 

 lip. Wallich's No. 1974 consists of flowering specimens of this, and flowerless of 

 ~E. confusa (which has not an excavate column) ; but in the distribution of his 

 Herbarium, Lindley received flowering specimens of confusa only, the character of 

 the stem of which he introduced into that of excavata. 



40. E. alba, Lindl. G-en. fy Sp. Orchid. 67; pseudobulbs not elongating, 

 leaves 3-5 narrow strongly nerved, scape and ovary pubescent, bracts 

 lanceolate, sepals ^-| in. ovate-lanceolate 3-5-nerved glabrescent, petals 

 linear-oblong 3-nerved, mentum rounded, lip oblong broadly clawed, side 

 lobes about the middle pointing forward obtuse, midlobe orbicular, disk 

 with usually 2 thick obtuse ridges between the side lobes and a slender 

 mesial one on the rough midlobe, column short. Hook.f. Ic. PI. t. 1845. 

 Octomeria alba, Wall. mss. 



SUBTROPICAL HIMALAYA ; from Kumaon, alt. 3-6000 ft., lEdgeworth, Royle, 

 Strachey Sf Winterbottom (E. excavata), to Sikkim, alt. 6-7000 ft. 



Habit of but differing f rorn excavata in the pronounced mentum, and different 

 column and lip, on which latter the ridges are sometimes obsolete or represented by 

 2 calli ; nerves of sepals and petals sometimes anastomosing ; flowers white, lip yellow 

 and red ; column small, but not broad and excavate. 



