PLATE CXXIV. 



HELICONIA PSITTACORUM. 



Parrot -billed Heliconia. 



C L A S S V."" R D E R I. 

 PENTANDRIA MONOGYNIA. Five Chives. One Pointal. 



GENERIC CHARACTER. 



Calyx. Sheaths common and partial alternate, 



Calyx. Spathae communes partialefque altema;, 



diftin&ae, perfiftentes. 

 Perianthium nullum. 

 Corolla. Petala tria, oblonga, canaliculata, 



erecta, acuta, aequalia. 



Nectarium diphyllum; foliolo altero pelalis 



fubaequali ; altero brevillimo, canalicular, 



uncinato, oppofito. 



Stamina. Filamenta quinque, linearia. An- 

 thers ere&ae, longae. 



Pistillum. Germeninferum, triquetrum. Sty- 

 lus ftaminibus fere brevior. Stigma Ion- 

 gum, gracile, curvatum, capitulo terminali. 



Pericarpil'm. Capl'ula oblonga, truncata, tri- 

 quetra, trilocularis, trivalvis. 



Semina folitaria, oblonga. 



SPECIFIC 



Heliconia. Foliis glaberrimis. lnnceolatis; in- 

 florefcentia glaberrima ; fpadice terminali 

 flexuofo; fpathis ruultifloris, marginibus re- 

 volutis; netStario lanceolato, concavo, inte- 

 gro. 



diftincx, remaining. 



Cup none. 



Blossom. Petals three, oblong, channelled, 

 upright, pointed, equal. 

 Honeycup two leaved; one leaflet nearly the 

 length of the petals; the other very fhort, 

 channelled, hooked and oppofite to the 

 larger. 



Chives. Five threads, linear. Tips upright 

 and long. 



Pointal. Seed -bud beneath, three-fided. Shaft 

 fcarcely fhorter than the chives. Summit 

 long, llender, curved, and terminating in 

 a final] head. 



Seed-vessel. Capfule oblong, appearing cut 

 off at the end, three-fided, three cells, 

 three valves. 



Seeds folitary, oblong. 

 CHARACTER. 



Heliconia with very fmooth, lance-fhaped leaves ; 

 the inflorefcence quite fmooth; item termi- 

 nating in a zig-zag form; fheaths contain- 

 ing many flowers and rolled back ; honey- 

 cup lance-lhaped, concave, and entire. 



REFERENCE TO THE PLATE. 



1. The Eloffom, with the three petals detached from the upper part of the Honey-cup, which is 



lhewn in front with the fmaller leaf inclofed within the larger. 



2. The Chives, with the lower part of the Honey-cup, to (hew their infertion at its bafe, and 



the fmaller leaf of the Honey-cup in its place. 



3. The fmaller leaf of the Honey-cup, magnified. 



4. The Shaft and Summit, the Summit detached magnified. 



5. The Seed-bud, natural (ize. 



6. The Seed-bud cut tranfverlely, magnified. 



The Parrot-billed Heliconia, a native of the continent of South America, as well as mod of the Weft 

 India Iflands, was firft received, in plants, from the ifland of St. Vincents, in the year 1797, by 

 Thomas Evans, Efq. of Stepney; in whofe collection it firft flowered, in September l'.QS, when our 

 drawing was taken. This plant requires a confklerable degree of moifture and heat, as well as much 

 root room and rich earth, to make it flower in perfection; as it feldom opens its bloiToms fro ly without 

 fuch treatment, and even with Inch afliftance, they are to be feen but for a few hours in that ftate. It 

 propagates from the roots, throwing up a Dumber of fuckers from the joints, which are firmed at a 

 considerable diftance from the plant. The younger Linnaeus in his Sup. Plant, of 1 JS1 , p. 158, has 

 defcribed this plant under our fpecific title, but different in fome few points; which appear to arife 

 more from his ideas of the various parts, than from any real difference in the plant itfelf. Swattz in 

 his Obf. 93, gives fheaths to his plant, which Linnaeus, we prefume, denominates flower lien leaves, 

 &c. yet we have no doubt, but they have both defcribed the fame plant; and perfectly agree with 

 Willdenow and Martyn, that the H. pfittacorum of both authors is the fame, and have as little of this 

 being the plant. 



