514 orchid-grower's manual. 



P. Backhousiana, Rchh. f. — A very distinct and beaatiful 

 species in the way of P. Klabochorum. The sepals and petals 

 are creamy white heavily tipped with bright purplish violet, 

 the deeply three-lobed lip is also creamy white, having a deep 

 yellow hippocrepiform callus of nineteen ribs, with brownish 

 lines to the keels, the anterior portion yellowish with a 

 number of small purplish warts. It blossoms during the 

 summer months. Introduced by Messrs. Backhouse & Son, 

 York. — Ecuador. 



Syn. — Zygopetalum Backhousianum. 



P. bella, Rchh. f. — Professor Reichenbach describes this 

 as being a grand beauty, with flowers larger than those of P. 

 cerina. The sepals and petals are light or whitish violet, and 

 have near their tips a broad band of the darkest purplish 

 violet ; the lip is rather hooded, and of a whitish yellow 

 colour, with a large hippocrepiform callus, consisting of 

 twenty-one ribs, the keels of which are purplish on their 

 back line, the tip of the lip showing a large purplish violet 

 blotch. The column is purplish with a triangular yellowish 

 white space at the base, covered with numerous purplish spots. 

 It flowers during the spring months. — New Grenada. 



Stn. — Zygoj^etalum bellum, 



P. cerina, Rchb. f. — A beautiful bulbless species, which 

 produces from the crown tufts of several cuneate-oblong acu- 

 minate leaves a foot long, and from their axils one-flowered 

 peduncles much shorter than the leaves, each producing a 

 handsome flower some three inches across. The sepals and 

 petals are fleshy, concave, roundish oblong, of a pale waxy 

 straw-colour, the lateral sepals being rather darker ; and the lip 

 is yellow, clawed, ovate convex retuse, with a thick semicircular 

 rufl" or crest of numerous truncate plaits, within which is 

 sometimes a band of deep purple, surrounding the base of 

 the short clavate hoodless column. The plant is slow in 

 growth, but of easy culture, producing at various seasons 

 its delicate-coloured flowers, which are of very long duration. 

 — Verar/ua, Chiriqui, elevation 8,000 feet. 



'ElG—Bot. 3Iag., t. 5598 ; Batem. 2nd Cent. Orch. PI, 1. 183 ; Xenia Orch., 

 i. t. 65; Flore des Serves, t. 1815; Floral Mag., 2 ser., t. 93; Paxt. Fl. 

 Gard., iii. 62, fig. 268. 



Syn. — Huntleya cerina; Zygopetalum cerinum. 



P. Dayana, Pvchh. f. — A very pretty and distinct species, 

 with flowers similar in shape to those of P. cerina. The 



