772: 



VI. OECmDE^. 



Lepiotes hicolor. 

 Dehiscent fruit. 



"Cypripedivm, Diagl-am. 



o " 



Cypfipedium. 

 Gyiiostegiilm seen in profile. 



Miltonia. 

 Germinating seed (niag.)i 



Cypripedium. 

 Sterile antlief , 



, Leptotes bicolor. 

 Diagram of fruit. 



Perennial herbaceous terrestrial plants, or epiphytes, or parasites ? {Epipo- 

 giuth, Gorallorhiza, Neottia Nidus-avis), sometimes sarmentose and furnished with 

 adventitious roots (Vanilla), sometimes marsh plants {Liparis, Malams) ; rhizome 

 creeping, or with fascicled fibrous roots, often accompanied with ovoid or palmate 

 tubercles, caulescent or stemless ; leaves often connate at the base, and forming with 

 the thickened stem an oblong swollen or flattened organ (pseudo-hulh). Stem or 

 SCAPE usually simple, cylindric or angular, often aphyllous, or furnishefd with scales. 

 Leaves : the radical and lower cauline close together, the upper equitant, alternate 

 or opposite, sheathing, glabrous, rarely velvety {Eria), fleshy or membranous, cylin- 

 dric, linear or linear-lanceolate, usually entire or emarginate {Vanda)j, or flabelKform 

 (Pogonia), or cordate {Neottia) ; nerves parallel, rarely reticulate (Ancectochilus), 

 sometimes gemmiparous {Malaxis paludosa, Spi/ram,thes gemmipa/ra). Flowers ^ ,or 

 imperfect by arrest, terminal, solitary or in ^ spike raceme or panicle, and bracteate, 

 sometimes springing from the middle of a leaf [Plewrothallis). Perianth superior, 

 usually petaloid, irregular, formed of 6 2-seriate free or coherent persistent or 

 caducous leaflets ; the outer [sepals) 3, of which 2 are lateral and 1 inferior j usually 

 becoming superior by the torsion of the pedicel or ovary ; the inner (petals) 3, alter- 

 nating with the sepals, the 2 lateral similar, and the third {lahelliim) originally 

 superior, then becoming inferior, usually dissimilar, larger, very various in shape 



