PL. CDXLVI. 
BIFRENARIA TYRIANTHINA RcuB. F. 
THE PURPLE-VIOLET BIFRENARIA. 
BIFRENARIA. Sepala subaequilonga, erecto-patentia, lateralia basi lata pedi columnae adnata, mentum saepius 
longum calcariforme formantia. Petala sepalo postico similia v. minora latioraque. Labellum ad apicem pedis columnae 
saepius articulatum, ungue incumbente brevi v. elongato ; lobi laterales ad apicem unguis latiusculi, erecti, medius patens, 
integer v. bifidus. Columna erecta, crassiuscula, semiteres, exalata, basi in pedem longum producta ; clinandrium trun- 
catum. Anthera terminalis, opercularis, incumbens, valde convexa, interdum dorso cristata, unilocularis v. imperfecte 
bilocularis; pollinia 4, ovoidea v. latiuscula, cerea, per paria sibimet arcte applicita v. in 2 bifida connata, inappen- 
diculata, anthera dehiscente stipitibus 2 brevissimis elongatisve basi in glandulam transversam saepius connatis affixa. 
Herbae epiphyticae, caulibus brevissimis paucivaginatis, mox in pseudobulbos carnosos apice uni-bifoliatos incras- 
satis. Folia oblonga, interdum ampla, plicato-venosa. Scapi inter pseudobulbos simplices, erecti, nunc breves floribus 
paucis, rarius ad unum reductis magnisque, nunc tenuiores floribus minoribus in racemo pluribus breviter pedicellatis. 
Bracteae parvae v. in grandifloris spathaceae. 
Species circa 15, Brasiliae, Guianae et forte Colombiae incolae. 
Bifrenaria LinDv., Gen. & Sp. Orch., p. 152. — BENTH. et Hoox. F. Gen. Plant., III, p. 546. 
Bifrenavia tyrianthina, Pseudobulbi oblongi, nitidi, monophylli. Folia elliptico-oblonga, subobtusa. Scapi sub- 
erecti, 2-3 flori. Bracteae ovato-lanceolatae, acutae. Flores magni, speciosi, tyrianthini. Sepala lanceolato-oblonga, 
apiculata, lateralia majora, basi cum columnae pedi in mentum calcariforme producta. Petala elliptico-oblonga, 
obtusa, basi subattenuata. Labellum unguiculatum, trilobum, lobis lateralibus semi-oblongis obtusis crenulatis, inter- 
medio suborbiculari-elliptico obtuso crenulato villoso, callo lineari apice dilatato truncato. Columna brevis angulata. 
Sepala et petala purpureo-violacea ; labellum intus atropurpureo-venosum. 
Bifrenaria tyrianthina Reus. ¥. Xen. Orch., I, pp. 61, 223. — Ib. in Cat. Orch. Schiller, p. 11. — REGEL 
Gartenflora, XIII, p. 4, t. 422, fig. 2. 
Lycaste tyrianthina Loup. Hort. Brit. Suppl., 3, p. 582. 
Maxillaria tyrianthina Josst, Orch., p. 272. 
Bifrenaria Dallemagnei Hort. 
he rediscovery of some fine old and forgotten species is always an 
interesting matter, if not a source of greater satisfaction than the 
acquisition of a new one. Personally, I prefer the former, and could 
TR that no more new species were discovered until all the old ones were 
satisfactorily accounted for, though others, viewing the matter from a different 
standpoint, would probably give an opposite opinion. It all depends on the 
way one looks at the matter. It may not be a miss, however, to point out 
that many species of Orchids were described long ago, either from dried 
specimens or from garden plants which were quickly lost, and the botanist 
must exercise considerable care not to impose new names on old plants. And 
when the descriptions are unnecessarily vague, and the specimens on which 
they are based are sealed up for a quarter of a century, on a sort of dog-in- 
the-manger principle, the task becomes herculean. However, the re-appearance 
of a fine old species can now be recorded, for if not absolutely lost sight of 
for many years it has been pretty nearly so. 
Oos 
