Plate 157. 



GALEANDRA DIVES 



Yellow Galeandra, 



Gen. Char, [Vide sufra, Tab. 152.) 



Galeandea dives ; caulibus erectis simplicibus polypliyllis^ foliis lanceeolatis acuininatis, spathis 

 mcmbranaceis yaginantibus acutis, panicula flexuosa, bracteis lanceolatis acuminatis scariosi?? 

 ovariis pedicellatis 3-plo brevioribus^ sepalis petalisqne subasqualibua lanceolatis acuniinatis. 



u vix 



labello transverse rbombeo apice late retuso obtuse trilobo (lobis lateralibun qnaiu meJi 

 longioribus) carinis duabus in fundo^ postice in calcar ab ostio amplissimo tenui cxtinctorii- 

 formi ovarium pedicellatum adsequans productum. 



Galeanbra dives, RcJib. Bonyl, ii. 38; et in Walijers^ AnnalcSj v. 6. 



Galeandra Baueri^ var. floribus luteis. Hoolcer in BoL Mag, t, 4701. 



A great deal of confusion, to which I have contributed my full share, existi^ 

 among the species of Galeandra. A flower (magnified) of the original species, G. Baneri, 

 was published about 1833 in Dr. Lindley's ' Ilhistrations of Orchidaceous Tlants,' which 

 was said, and I have no doubt correctly, to have come from Cayenne. A few years 

 afterwards a plant, introduced by the late Mr. Barker from iMexico, produced two or 

 three miserable flowers, which were pronounced by Dr. Lindley— though I now think 

 erroneously— to be identical with those of his G, Baueri. Of these flowers a drawing 

 was made, and the plant through hot treatment speedily died. Shortly afterwards 

 Mr. Skinner sent over some plants from Guatemala which were thought, on what 

 appeared to be invincible evidence, to be a fresh batch of G. Baueri, and from these— 

 some of which had borne as many as twenty flowers on a spike— assisted by the draw- 

 ing from Mr. Barker's specimen, Miss Drake prepared the figure of the species that 

 was published in my ' Orchidacese of Mexico and Guatemala.' My vexation will tlicrc- 

 fore be imagined when— some years afterwards —one of Mr. Skinner's plants flowered 

 and, instead of the Galeandra, turned out to be a new Epidendruin (E. laccrtimm), of 

 which, besides being more numerous, the flowers were disposed in a manner totally 

 cliff"erent from those of the species it had simulated. Well may Professor Rcirhen- 

 bach speak of the plate in question as "icon phantastica " (Walpers" Annales,' ». 6, sub 

 Galeandra). My mistake was however paralleled by that of my lamented friend 



