64 



MASDEVAl.LIA. 



Discovered about the yeai' 1849 by Wagoner, at a place called 

 Tovar, situated at a considerable elevation on the coast range of 

 Venezuela in the province of Caracas. Plants were sent by him to 

 G-ermany, one of which was subsequently obtained by the late Mr. 

 Sigismund Rucker, in whose collection at West Hill, Wandsworth, it 

 flowered for the first time in this country in November, 1864, Mas- 



Masdevallia tovarensis. 



devallia tovarensis continued to be a comparatively rare plant in 

 British collections till 1880, when a large importation of native plants 

 was received by Messrs. Low and Co., of Clapton. Ever since its 

 first introduction this Masdevallia has been one of the most highly 

 prized of orchids on account of its pure white flowers that are 

 produced late in the autumn, and which last nearly till Christmas, 



