ORCHID CONFERENCE. 19 



shoot and part of the root away, hoping the loss would never be 

 remarked. 



The last case is of Saccolabium micranthum (Lindl.). Director 

 Lucien Linden sent me lately a fine Cochin Chinese plant, with 

 a young two-leaved shoot on a root. The whole plant was 

 boiled and carefully dried. It can be seen in my herbarium. 



[The President here remarked that a fine specimen of 

 Phalanopsis Stuartiana, showing this peculiarity of growth, had 

 been contributed to the show by Mr. Macdonald, of Perth. 

 The plant was brought from the conservatory for inspection.] 



II. TRILABELLIA. CONTINUA. 



I had seen various cases of monstrous accidental trilabellia 

 inter na-. In all those cases there were no anthers developed at 

 all, and the genuine free style had a terminal upright stigmate, 

 hollow, without the least pronation (deflexion). 



The finest thing of this kind that ever came in my reach 

 was a grand flower of Oncidium Papilio, with three lips, three 

 sepals, and a fusiform apostasioid style, without the least indigita- 

 tion of anthers or filaments. It was most kindly presented me 

 by my excellent second eldest English correspo^lent, Mr. 

 J. Day. I remember having seen a very fine Cattleyoid flower 

 of that kind (if I remember rightly Lalia ehgans) in the hands of 

 Professor Thiselton Dyer. 



All cases of that shape were accidental only, and I always, 

 having missed the stamens as soon as there were apostasioid 

 styles, adopted the view of an Antagonismus, the columna being 

 reduced and partly made normal to pay the vast expense of the 

 luxury of three lips. 



There came, however, some instances to my mind, where the 

 trilabellia occurs enclosing a common columna with its pronation 

 and its normal anther. In these cases all the flowers were 

 equally trilabellia, and this was observed once more on the next 

 shoots of the same plant. 



The first case was that one of Oncidium pratextum Leeanum. 

 The Sanderian traveller, Mr. Osmer, was struck by a panicle 

 loaded with such flowers, so that he made the unusual and keen 

 attempt to dry them. They are now, thanks to Mr. Sander's 

 liberality, at my side, eight in number. The plant itself came 

 into the glorious collection of Mr. William Lee, where it pro- 

 duced identical flowers, eleven of which lay before me, thanks to 



B 2 



