SCUTICARTA. 149 



swollen at the base. Column semi-terete, much spotted with purple, 



white at the apex. 



Scuticaria Hadwenii, Benth. in Journ. Linn. Soc. XVIII. p. 323 (1881). Eolfe 



in Gard. Chron. I. s. 3 (1887), p. 733. Bifrenaria Hadwenii, Lin.ll. in Paxt. Fl. 



Gard. I. p. 67 (1851). Bot. Mag. t. 4629. Van Houtte'.s Fl. dcs Serves, VII. t. 731. 

 Kchb. in Walp. Ann. VI. p. 550. 



Introduced from Rio de Janeiro by Mr. Isaac Hadwen, of Liverpool, 



in whose garden it flowered in June^ 1851^ and by whom it was 



communicated to the Royal Gardens at Kew and to other collections. 



It was shortly afterwards brought from southern Brazil by the late 



Mr. Miers, of Hammersmith, and has since been occasionally imported 



with other Brazilian orchids. As a liorticultural plant it is less 



showy than Scuticaria Steelei, from which it is easily distinguished 



by its much shorter leaves and differently-shaped labellum, 



S. Steelei. 



Stems as thick as an ordinary writing pencil, 1 — 2 inches long, 



invested with greyish, lacerated, membraneous sheaths. Leaves quite 



pendulous, tapering towards the apex 1—4 feet long. Peduncles 1 — 3 



flowered. Flowers nearly 3 inches in diameter, light yellow spotted 



with red-brown, the fleshy crest of the lip orange-yellow ; sepals and 



petals oblong, sub-acute, the lateral sepals the broadest, connate at their 



base, and forming with the base of the lip an obtuse mentum or chin ; 



lip sub-orbicular when spread out, three-lobed, the side lobes turned 



upwards ; the front lobe spreading, with a sinus in the anterior margin ; 



crest an oblong fleshy plate, traversed longitudinally by five raised lines. 



Column semi-terete, bent. 



Scuticaria Steelei, Lindl. in Bot. Eeg. 1843, misc. p. 14 (Steelii). Rchb. in Walp. 

 Ann. VI. p. 551. Williams' Orch. Alb. II. t. 55. Maxillaria Steelii, Bot. Mag. 

 t. 3573. Bot. Reg. t. 1986, Schomb. Reisen. III. p. 909. 



The handsomest of the Scuticarias as regards its flowers and the 



most singular in its excessively elongated leaves. It was introduced 



from Demerara in 1836 by Mr. Matthew Steele, by whom it was 



communicated to Mr. Moss, of Otterspool, near Liverpool, in whose 



garden it flowered for the first time in this country in the following 



year. It was detected by the brothers Schomburgk during their 



exploration of British Guiana, 1840 — 44, "on the banks of the rivers 



Bssequibo and Demerara on the trunks of trees, flowering in June 



and July." 



