v.J REMARKABLE LEAVES. 93 



should remain unknown for thirty-six years after its 

 first discovery, yet such was the case. It was first 

 discovered by Haenke in 1801. " Father la Cueva 

 and Haenke were together in a piroque upon the Rio 

 Mamore, one of the great tributaries of the Amazon 

 river, when they discovered in the marshes, by the 

 side of the stream, a flower which was so surpassingly 

 beautiful and extraordinary, that Haenke, in a trans- 

 port of admiration, fell on his knees and expressed 

 aloud his sense of the power and magnificence of the 

 Creator in His works" (D'Orbjgny). But the first 

 specimens seen in Europe were received in Paris 

 from M. D'Orbigny in 1828. These were discovered 

 in the river Parana in Guiana. In 1832 it was 

 again found in some tributaries of the Amazon by a 

 German traveller, and yet it was not until 1837 that 

 public attention was called to it, when Sir Robert 

 Schomburgk discovered it in the Berbice river, Bri- 

 tish Guiana. In a letter to the Royal Geographical 

 Society he described the largest specimen he met 

 with, the dimensions of which he gave as six feet 

 five inches across the leaf, with a rim five or six 

 inches high, and flowers a foot and a quarter across. 

 Since then living specimens have been received in 

 this country, and so successfully grown that it has 

 reached a larger size even than it attains in its native 

 habitats. Splendid specimens may be seen at Kew, 

 where it attracts considerable attention. 



And now we think we have almost exhausted the 

 amount of space we can spare for the consideration 

 of remarkable leaves and flowers ; but before ending 

 our chapter we must take some passing notice of a 



