Ewart 
4a &. 
aie 
“ts 
QOIE9 
Ei CECI xoxox 
CHYSIS BRACTESCENS pt. 
THE BRACTEATE CHYSIS. 
CHYSIS. Sepala aequilonga, inter se libera, patentia, lateralia postico latiora, basi obliqua columnae pedi 
affixa. Petala sepalo postico similia. Labellum pedi columnae affixum eique breviter incumbens, dein erectum; lobi 
laterales ampli, erecti, medius patens v. reflexus, integer v. bilobus ; laminae v. venae disci basi saepius callosae. 
Columna erecta, incurva, crassa, latiuscule bialata, basi in pedem producta; clinandrii dentes laterales breves, obtusi, 
posticus longior. Anthera denti postico affixa, Opercularis, incumbens, loculis 2 distinctis imperfecte bi-quadrilocel- 
latis ; pollinia 8, in quoque loculo 4, obovoidea vy. oblonga, cerea, appendicula granulosa ampla interdum fere in 
laminam extensa connexa, paris inferioris cujusve loculi saepius majora v. inter se valde inaequalia, paris superioris 
interdum appendicula adnata (v. vix ab ea distincta ?). 
Herbae epiphyticae; caules carnosuli, basi vaginati, Superne confertim foliosi, demum incrassate fusiformes y. 
longe pseudobulbosi. Folia longiuscula, venis prominulis, Racemus lateralis, saepius ad axillam folii inferioris ; flores 
plures, speciosi, albi v. plus minus flavi, Bracteae nunc parvae nunc foliaceae, flore paullo breviores. 
Species circa 6, Mexici et Colombiae incolae. 
Chysis LinpL. Bot. Reg., XXII (1837), t. 1937. — BENTH. et Hook. F. Gen. Plant., III, p. 514. 
Chysis bractescens, Pseudobulbi fusiformes, carnosi, Folia ovato-lanceolata, acuta, undulata, subplicata, basi 
cucullata. Racemi breves, 4-5-flori. Bracteae magnae, ovatae, subacutae, concavae. Flores magni, cerei, candidi, 
coriacei. Sepala ovato-oblonga, subobtusa, lateralia postico latiora, margine incurva. Petala oblonga, erecta, obtusa, 
basi angustata. Labellum intus luteum, extus candidum, hypochilii lobis lateralibus erectis rotundatis, cristis 5 laevibus 
parallelis basi pubescentibus, epichilio bilobo nudo complicato. Columna latissima, cymbiformis, carnosa, antice 
pubescens, in pedem producta. 
Chysis bractescens LINDL. Bot. Reg., XXVI, Misc., p. 61. — Id., XXVII, t. 23. — Bot. Mag., t. 5186. — 
BaTem. Sec. Cent. Orch., t. 138. — Fl. des Serres, t. 675. — Ill. Hort., XXVU, p. 148, t. 398. — Rev. Hort., 
1859, pp. 293-5, fig. 71, 72. — Deutsche Gart. Zeit., 1886, p. 82, fig. 17. — Reichenbachia, ser. 1, I, Pp. 41,'t. 18. — 
Warn. & WILL. Orchid Album, X, t. 446. — VeIrcH Man. Orch., WIS p. 25: 
| 4ysis bractescens has been an inhabitant of our gardens for upwards of 
half a century, as it flowered for the first time in Europe in 1840, in 
the collection of Mr Joun Barker, of Birmingham, who introduced it. 
Mexico is its native country, and it is said to have been frequently received from 
Cordova, in the province of Vera Cruz, and from Tobasco, where it grows 
hanging from the branches of the trees by means of its long fibrous roots. It is 
sometimes received with C. aurea, with which it probably grows, at least 
occasionally. 
It flowers in the early spring months, and may be distinguished from 
every other species by its large bracts and cream-white flowers. 
It should be cultivated in well-drained pots, in a compost of peat and moss, 
and should be grown at the coolest end of the East Indian house, and liberally 
watered during the growing season. When the growths are matured, they should 
Mo. Bot. Garden, 
1895. 
