and it is frequently the subject of his description and admiration. This plant should 

 be constantly (except when in flower) kept in the East Indian house. It is most easily 

 managed, and flowers profusely, some specimens having borne as many as six or seven 



racemes, with from three to five flowers each, on a single stem! Its flowering season 

 is mid-winter. It is still rare, and very difiicult either to increase or import. 



Desck. The plant, including the leaves, does not 



* 



appear to exceed two feet in 

 iieight, — so that the flowers are sometimes as long as the plant, — simple or bearino- 



one or 



two branches ; attached to the trunks of trees by wiry fibres, rather denseb 

 with distichous, spreading, more or less recurved leaves, of a broad oblong form 



thick and fleshy, dark-green, imbricated 



the base 



Peduncles axillary, 



bearing from two to five gigantic ivory-white fragrant flowers^ each subtended, at the 

 base of the ovary, by a broad, ovate, coloured hract: Sepals and petals equally spread- 

 ing, nearly uniform, three inches long, from a broad base, gradually acuminated, some- 



r 



what fleshy. Lip equal in size with sepals and petals, from a cordate base, ovate, 

 acuminated, near tlie middle on each side coarsely and irregularly serrated ; from the 



ba 



se o 



f 



beneath, depends 



y 



5 



but gradually tapering spur 



foot in length, green in colour. Column very short, thick, with two broad wavy wings 

 on each side the stigma, which almost conceal that organ. Anther-case helmet-shaped, 



wliite, with a 



& 



coloured marc- 



Pollen 



attached to a somewhat linear gland 



wa X y 



The Plate represents a leaf, of the nahiral size; the upper part of a peduncle, with flowers, 

 also nahiral size. Fig. 1. Entire plant, on a very reduced scale. 2. Apex of an ovary, column 



and antlicr. 3. Pollen-masses : 



-fi 



