been described as M. Tovarensis. To add to the confusion, there exists in the collec- 

 tion of Lady Dorothy Nevill a plant under the name of M. Tovarensis, which is alto- 

 gether different from the species now described, and of which I hope to give some 

 account at a future time. 



Nearly all the Masdevallias may be classed among ' cool,' and many of the species 

 among the veri/ coolest Orchids, being chiefly found at a great elevation on the Andes 

 of New Granada and Peru. Nothing can be easier than their cultivation, if the con- 

 ditions of low temperature and almost constant humidity to which they are accustomed 

 in their native habitats, be duly imitated. It is hoped that collectors may be induced 

 to make the introduction of a number of these lovely plants a special object, for a group 

 of twenty or thirty kinds might be grown in a space that would be insufficient to ac- 

 commodate a single specimen of some of the larger Orchids, and with nearly half the 

 amount of heat. Among the species particularly worth searching for, I would notice 

 M. rosea, that covers the slopes of the Popayan Alps with flowers larger than those 

 of If. Candida, and of the loveliest purple-rose colour; M. racemosa, from the same 

 country, with spikes a foot long, of flowers larger than any Burlingtonia, and of the 



r 



vivid scarlet; and M. elephanticeps, from New Granada, with gold and purp 



blossoms six inches long, and the arrangement of which vindicates the propriety of the 

 singular name given to it by Professor Eeichenbach (in whose 'Xenia' it is admirably 

 flgnred), for it offers an almost exact similitude to an elephant's head, with tusks and 

 trunk complete ! 



Another species, M. coccinea, a worthy rival to the best of the above, is happily 

 already among us in a living state, having been brought over in a cio-ar-box by Warsze- 



wicz, and thus saved from the risk of decay which delicate plants incur if huddled to- 

 gether with those that are more robust. A. neglect of this precaution caused the deatli 

 of many splendid masses of M. clepliantice^ps that were lately imported by Messrs. Low 

 and others. 



Bescr. Leaves about a span long, oblong, somewhat spathulate, obscurely toothed 



at their extremities, nearly the same length as the upright t\y o-ed^edi j^eduncle. Bracts 

 membranous, cucullate, enveloping the lower portion of the petiole. Flowers two on 

 each peduncle, continuing long in perfection, and of the purest white. Sepals, as is 

 usual in this genus, coalesce at the base, and form a sort of cup ; the upper one lancco- 

 late, and prolonged for an inch into a slender awn ; the lateral sepals wider, and joined 

 together much further than the upper one, and ending in short, slightly decurved awns. 

 Petals oblong, sliglitly sharp-pointed, curved inwards about the length of the lip. ^W 

 very small, oblong, acute, emarginate about the middle on either side, with three nerves 

 down its centre, of which the two lateral ones are somewhat elevated. 



Fig. 1. Side view of ovary, lip, and petals. 2. Side view of column. 3. Lip. 4. PoUen- 

 masses : — magnified. 



I 



