BIFRENARIA. 121 



B. MELEAGRIS, Rchh. /.—A beautiful and interesting species, liaving a 

 short erect stem, with the broadly-lanceolate leaves a foot long arranged in 

 two close opposite rows ; the peduncle is axillary, bearing one flower three to 

 four inches in diameter, of which the sepals and petals are ovate acuminate, 

 broad at the base, tessellated, pale yellow on the basal half and purplish brown 

 upwards ; the two lateral sepals folded inwards on the inner margin at the base 

 Ihe lip is about half the size of the petals, similar in form, but with a distinct 

 claw, white tipped with purplish brown, and having at the base of the claw a 

 crescent-shaped plate, fringed with long stifE yellowish hairs. It is a scarce 

 Orchid, blooming in June and July, and lasts a long time in beauty.— Bra.-.iZ. 



Fia.—£ot.l{eff.,lSS9,t. U ; Maund, Bot., iii. t. 146 ; Xeala Orch., i. t. 66, figs. 1,2 ; 

 Z'Orchdiophile, 1889, p. 49. 



StjN'. — Suntleya Mcleagris. 



B. WALLISII, Rchh.f. — This showy plant was at first considered to be only a 

 variety of B. Burtii, but has since been established as a, distinct species. It 

 has a running rhizome, which sometimes grows up 40 ft. high. The flowers are 

 light greenish yellow outside, greenish brown inside, yellow at the base of the 

 sepals, but having scarlet stripes at the base of the petals ; lip greenish with a 

 brownish tint at the apex, the bristles of the callus also being greenish. The 

 lateral sepals are nearly four inches long, and broad in proportion. It flowers 

 during the summer months. — Gosta, Rica. 



Fig. — Jimrii. ofHoH., xxi., 1890, p. 9, fig. 5. 



B. WALLISII MAJOR, Bchh. f. — This magnificent variety is a perfect giant, 

 the flowers measuring as much as five and a half inches in diameter. It was 

 first flowered by Sir Trevor Lawrence, Bart., in September, 1883, and is 

 wonderfully distinct and handsome in appearance. The rhizomes are creeping 

 and the leaves distichous. The sepals and petals are ovate-lanceolate acuminate, 

 white at the base, and of a rich chestnut brown in the upper part, having a 

 distinctly tessellated appearance, caused through the veins being very 

 prominent and of a darker colour than the ground ; the petals have some 

 radiating stripes of deep purple at their lower extremities ; the lip is lance- 

 shaped, dark chestnut brown, reticulated, with a margin of blackish-purple. 

 Mr. B/oezl states that " it grows in a temperature of 75° — 85° F. all the year 

 round, in deep shade, in an atmosphere saturated with moisture, and where 

 rain falls so constantly that the plant is almost always wet." It, as well as the 

 type, ought to be in every collection. — Conta Rica. 



BIFRENARIA, Undley. 

 {Trihe Vandeae, suhtnbe Cyrtopodieae.) 

 A small genus of epiphytal Orchids containing about ten known 

 species, mostly natives of Brazil. The name is derived from his, double, 

 and fraenum, a bridle, in reference to the two bridle-like attach- 

 ments of the pollen masses. In years gone by, the plants of this 



