MASDEVALLIA FRAGRANS. 
O certain information can be given as to the habitat or the discoverer of this new 
species. It was purchased from Mr. Bull in 1887, for the Marquess of Lothian’s 
collection, under the name of MJ. elephanticeps, and until the first flowers appeared, in 
April 1892, no suspicion of the incorrectness of this name was entertained, the great 
resemblance between the leaves of the two species justifying those who named the plant. 
That the flowers of J. fragrans do not resemble those of M. elephanticeps need hardly 
be pointed out; the shape and size of the massive flowers of the latter, with their long 
tails and the dark colouring of their lateral sepals, are sufficient to distinguish the two 
at a glance. 
The habitat of MZ. elephanticeps is Ocaiia, in the province of Santander, Colombia, 
where it grows in woods at an elevation of 6,000 to 10,000 feet. Mr. Bull’s plants of 
M. elephanticeps were imported from that locality, and there seems to be little doubt 
that MZ. fragrans was introduced among them, the two probably growing together, and, 
when not in flower, so closely resembling one another as to be indistinguishable. 
The delicate fragrance of the flowers—an uncommon characteristic throughout 
g g 
the genus Masdevallia—suggested our specific name for this plant. 
