52 THE VICTOUIAN KATURALIST. 



drawing made at the commencement of this century by Mons. 

 Latjm'-Lescheaault in New Gumea, wliere as one of the Natm-alists 

 of Baudiu's Expedition he discovered the beautiful and remarkable 

 plant, which bears generically his name, it being specifically dis- 

 tinguislied as L. spectabilis. As the plant seemed not to have been 

 ve-discovered, I was pleasingly surprised, wlien within the last few days 

 I received as likely new from Ch. iVioore, Esq., F.L.S., a fiov/eriug 

 specimen from the Sydney Botanic Gardens, accompanied by a note, 

 that he had received the plant for his conservatory from the 

 Solomon-Islands. Thus an opportunity was aff rded me, to re- 

 examine this evidently rare plant. I can bear testimony to the 

 general accuracy of the illustration furnished at tab. 195, fig. 1 and 

 tab. 199, C in the " Eumphia," and also to the description given 

 at p.p. 41 — 42. Some details can hov/ever now be added to the 

 latter ; and this is all the more desirable, as Mr Bentham, (B. & 

 H., Gen. PI. Ill, 501,) lately expressed a doubt, whether the poUinia 

 were correctly described, and thus the genus one of validity — The 

 stem before me is fully 1^ foot long, bearing 6 transverse scars ; the 

 leaves are nearly twice as long, hut not broader than those illustrated 

 by Latour, numbering 5 ; the raceme beai-s 10 flowers, which I find 

 inodorous and resupinate, as shown alrea iy l)y the published draw- 

 ing, the labelluin turning upwards : the latter in its lower portion is 

 almost whitish, in its upper pale-yellow, but so copiously traversed 

 by dark-purple veins, as almost to assume that color, especially as 

 the broad median line, with its but very slightly elevated streaks is 

 also dark-purjDle ; the upper lo'.'e of the labellum curls readily inward 

 along the margin, then assuming a hornlike shape ; the lateral lobes 

 are clasping behind the anther, the touching portions being connate 

 for a short distance, but only lightly so, seceding from each other on 

 slight mechanic pressure ; the two-furrowed callus near the junction 

 of the 3 labellum-lobes is whitish, and passes below into an equally 

 callous plate of quadrate shape, which fits contiguously to the 

 gynostemium ; the anther is greenish, a very thin and narrow 

 membrane turning upwards at its base ; the yellow ceraceous 

 pollinla consist of two pairs, coherent into a roundish mass, 

 dorsally slightly concave, frontally convex, the pairs on pressure 

 secedir.g, the two portions of each pair not quite so readily separable, 

 equal in length, placed longitudinally. — The main characteristic, on 

 which the genus rests, namely the supposed occurrence of oidy two 

 simple pollinia, is therefore wrongly given, while the minor note of 

 the anterior unison of the lateral labellum-lobes is also to some 

 extent invalidated, as this coalescence is rather one of coherence 

 than actual concrescence. It will thus be best to reduce Latouria 

 to a section of Dendrohium, with which in all other respects it 

 generically agrees. Indeed Prof. Miquel (flora Ind. Batav. Ill, 

 645) already surmised, that this plant should be regarded as a 

 Dendrobium, altho' he had no opportunity to confirm this by any 

 orii^'inal observations. 



