120 UOtJLLETlA. 



liypoeliile of lip cyml)iform, gibhous in front Leneatli the mosochile, 



saccate at the base where it is orange with two maroon spots, or wholly 



maroon, the front part orange-yellow bnt sometimes whitish ; horns of 



mesochile narrowly falcate and bent over the epichile, light yellow or 



ivory-white ; epichile cordate, acute, incurved at the margins, pale yellow 



spotted with red. Column nearly straight with two rounded wings, and 



coloured like the epichile of the lip. 



Stanhopea AVardii, Lindl. Sert. Orch. t. 20 (1839). Id. in Bot. Eeg. 1843, .sub. 

 t. 44. Id. Fol. Orch. Stanhopea, No. 6. Rchb. Xen. Orch. I. p. 122. Id. in 

 Walp. Ann. VI. p. 588. Knowles and Westc. Fl. Cab. II. pi. 90. Bot. Mag. t. 

 5287. Lindenia, VII. t. 315. S. aurea, Lodd. in Bot. Reg. 1841, misc. No. 31. 



One of the best known of the Stanhopeas ; it was originally 



introduced from La Guayra, the port of Caracas, by Messrs. Loddiges 



in 1828 through their correspondent Mr. Ward, after whom it was 



named; and shortly afterwards by Messrs. Low from the same 



locality. It was subsequently found in Guatemala and sent from 



that country to Messrs. Loddiges and to the Royal Gardens at 



Kew. It is easily recognised by the dark velvety maroon colour 



of the cavity of the hypo chile. 



HOULLETIA. 



A. Brougn. in Ann. Sc. Nat. s. 2, vol. XV. p. 37 (1841), Benth. et Hook. Gen. Plant. 

 III. p. 550. 



Houlletia includes about six species which occur in two parts 

 of the South American continent widely remote from each other, 

 viz., the Andean region of northern Colombia and the province 

 of Rio de Janeiro in southern Brazil ; in the last-named region, 

 however, the genus is represented, so far as at present known, 

 by a single species, that on which it was founded ; and the others 

 are found within a limited area in northern Colombia. Houlletia 

 therefore affords another instance of the Oechide^ of northern 

 Colombia and southern Brazil being connected by the closest affinities 

 and at the sanie time separated by an immense geographical space.* 



Botanically Houlletia has Stanhopea for one of its nearest affinities, 

 but from which it is clearly distinct in its floral characters ; the 



* Thus, Cattleya, Cypripedium, Miltonia, Rodriguezia, lonopsis, and several others. But 

 it must be remembered that the intervening region has thus far been very imperfectly 

 explored ; in fact, the greater part of it except along the banks of the navigable rivers is 

 practically unknown botanically. • 



