r, 19*1.] 
THE ORCHID REVIEW. 
ORCHIDS IN PAPUA (BRITISH NEW GUINEA). 
7*HR0UGH the invitation of H.E. the Hon. J. H. F. Murray, Mr. C. 
V* T. White, F.L.S., spent five weeks botanizing in the territory of 
Papua during the months of July and August, 1918. In conjunction with 
Dr. R. S. Rogers, M.A., the results were read before the Royal Society of 
South Australia, June 10th, 1920, and published with four plates as a 
contribution to the Orchidaceous Flora of Papua, British New Gumea (trns. 
vol. xliv., 1920). All the specimens were gathered in the mountainous 
country between Dilava and Mafula, at an elevation of 3-4,0006., and about 
60 miles inland from Yule Island on the Southern coast. 
The new species include Physurus bicalcaratus, allied to P. chinensis. 
The author states that the genus Physurus comprises about 74 recorded 
species, the vast majority of which are natives of the New World, only 10 
being found in Asia and in certain of the islands lying to the south and east 
of that continent. These islands include Japan, Formosa, Java, Sumatra, 
and New Guinea. The flowers are inconspicuous, but some of the plants 
are prized for their beautiful leaves, resembling in this respect the genus 
Anoectochilus, to which, indeed, Physurus is closely related. 
Goodyera hispidula is said to approach very closely G. longibracteatea, 
Hayata, with which species it may ultimately be deemed identical. 
Spathoglottis papuana var. puberflora, departs from the type by the presence 
of innumerable short setaceous hairs on stem, bracts, pedicels and outer 
surface of flowers, the type being quite glabrous; also by the pubescent 
condition of the posterior portion of the upper surface of the labellum. 
Habenaria ramosa falls under Kranzlin’s section “ Medusaeformes,” and 
approaches H. ternata, Reich, f. Cryptostylis erythroglossa, Hayata, has 
the labellum white with reddish base, spotted, and thus differs from the 
Formosan plant, which has the labellum entirely red. 
Dendrochilum Murrayi is a new species named in honour of the Hon. 
J. H. P. Murray, Lieut.-Governor of Papua. Following the description, it 
is remarked that the history of the genus is interesting. It was founded by 
Blume in 1825. * n 1843 Nees and Meyen described from an imperfect seed¬ 
ing specimen without flowers a new genus Acoridium, which they regarded 
as non-orchidaceous and placed in the order Philydraceae. It was transferred 
almost immediately by Endlicher to the Burmanniceae, and later on was 
again removed to the Cyperaceae, in which order it remained for many years 
with the somewhat doubtful approval of Bentham. In 1884 Bentham split 
Blume’s genus into Dendrochilum and Platyclinis, the former having a lateral 
and the latter an apical inflorescence (i.e., in regard to their origin from the 
pseudobulb). In the Genera Plantarum, Platyclinis appears among the 
Epidendreae under the sub-tribe Liparieae, and Dendrochilum is placed 
