164 COMPARETTIA. 



COMPARETTIA. 



Poppig et Eudl. Nov. Gen. et Sp. I. p. 42, t. 73 (1835). Beoth. et Hook. Gen. Plant. III. 

 p. 558. 



A small genus including four or five species, natives of tropical 

 America. The chief character that distinguishes Comparettia from 

 other genera is the slender spur which is a remarkable structure ; 

 it is not a simple organ but consists of three spurs, two of which 

 are produced from the labellum ' and one from the united base of 

 the lateral sepals within which the two spurs of the labellum are 

 hidden and not discoverable till the sepaline spur is cut open. In 

 all the species it is more or less divergent from the ovary. 



The Comparettias are dwarf plants with short stems, leathery 

 leaves few in number, and lax racemes of handsomely-coloured 

 flowers. The genus commemorates Andreas Comparetti, Professor of 

 Botany at Padua and one of the most eminent vegetable physiologists 

 of his time. 



Cultural Note. — A latticed stage placed not more than 18 — 24 inches 

 from the glass in the coolest part of the intermediate house is a 

 suitable position for the Comparettias, and on this the pots or baskets 

 in which the plants are grown may be placed, but many cultivators 

 prefer small pans suspended from the roof. Fibrous peat mixed with 

 a little sphagnum is the best compost for them, and which should be 

 kept constantly moist, the quantity of moisture being, of course, 

 regulated according to the season. A light shading on hot bright 

 days must also be used. 



Comparettia coccinea. 



Stems fusiform, slightly elongated, 1 — 2 inches long, di-triphyllous. 



Leaves narrowly lanceolate, acute, 2 — 3 inches long, leathery, purplish 



beneath. Scapes nodding, as long again as the leaves, 5 — 7 flowered ; 



bracts small, scale-like. Flowers an inch across vertically ; sepals and 



petals ovate, acute, light yellow bordered with orange-red, the lateral 



sepals connate and concealed by the lip; lip three-lobed, the basilar 



lobes auriculate with two raised lines between them ; the intermediate 



lobe broad, spreading, sub-quadrate or transversely oblong, deeply 



emarginate, bright scarlet ; spur slender, longer than the blade, yellowish. 



Column whitish, rostellum beaked. 



Comparettia coccinea, Lindl. in Bot. Reg. 1838, t. 68. Echb. in Walp. Ann, VI. 

 p. 688. Illus. hort. 1866, pi. 472. 



This is probably a rare species, for although introduced more 



than half a century ago it is now but seldom seen in the orchid 



