4 . STAUROI'SIS. 



The botanical history of this remarkable orchid is sketched in 

 outline by the literary quotations given above, which we now proceed 

 to fill up. It was first made known to science by the French botanist, 

 Gaudichaud, who discovered it growing on large trees and on bare 

 rocks^ on one of the small islands in the Molucca group during his 

 trip in the ill-fated vessel L'Uranie, commissioned by the French 

 Government in 1817 to sail on a voyage of discovery round the 

 world, and which was wrecked on the Falkland Islands in 1820;* 

 chiefly owing to this accident the botanical results of the voyage were 

 not published till 1826. He founded upon this orchid the genus 

 Fieldia, in compliment to Mr. Barron Field, of Sydney, New South 

 Wales, at whose hands he had received great kindness during his 

 stay in the then infant colonyt ; but Lindley when compiling his 

 Genera and Species of Orchidaceous Plants referred it to Vanda, retaining 

 Gaudichaud's specific name Ussockiloides ; Reichenbach, however-, 

 adopted Gaudichaud's genus Fieldia many years afterwards in his 

 synopsis of the Orchide.e, published in Walper's Annales Systematicce, 

 Vol. VI., loc. cit. supra, but it could not be retained for the reason 

 already stated. In the meantime the plant had been re-discovered 

 by the Dutch botanist, Blume, on the island of Bali, situated near 

 the eastern extremity of Java, growing in the same manner as observed 

 by Gaudichaud. It remained unknown to horticulture till 1841 — 2, 

 when it was sent by Cuming from the Philippine Islands. It flowered 

 for the first time in this country in Mr. Bateman's collection at 

 Biddulph Grange in StaSbrdshire, in the summer of 1846. Dr. Lindley 

 availed himself of the occasion to figure and describe the plant in the 

 Botitnical Register of that ^ear, changing the specific name to Bate- 

 mami in compliment to the most prominent orchid amateur of that 

 time, assigning as a reason that "there is only the slenderest 

 resemblance between the flowers of this plant and those of the 



•Charles Gaudichaud-Beaiipre was one of the most laborious travellers of his time, and 

 the very many discoveries he made, and his great and protracted sufl'erings in the cause 

 of science, stiould preserve his name from oblivion. He was born at Angouleme 

 in 1780. He became " Pharmacien de la marine" in 1810, and in that capacity he was 

 attached to tlie exploring ship, L Uranie. He subsequently made long voyages in La 

 Phijsiciennc, V H anionic and La BonU, during which he visited many tropical and sub- 

 tropical countries, both in the Eastern and Western Hemispheres. After his return to 

 his native country from his last voyage, he devoted much of liis time to botanical pursuits ; 

 but he had suffered so much from the effects of his voyages that he was very feeble 

 and infirm for several years prior to his death, which happened at Paris in 1854. 



+ Ste page 1, 



