ioe THE ORCHID REVIEW. 
generally more or less shield-shaped staminode ; stigma subsessile, shield- 
shaped. The tribe contains about 86 known species, and is widely diffused 
through the northern hemisphere, and part of tropical America and Asia, in 
the latter ranging along the Malay Archipelago to the Philippines and New 
Guinea. The species have been variously arranged in from one to three 
genera, but from the following it will be seen that they can be arranged in 
four natural groups, whose claim to generic rank now seems to be well 
made out. 
Key to the Genera. 
Ovary 3-celled with axile placentas ; sepals valvate. 
Leaves plicate ; perianth persistent ; seeds subglobose 
4. SELENIPEDIUM, Rchb. f. 
Leaves conduplicate ; perianth deciduous ;. seeds fusiform 
5. PHRAGMIPEDIUM, Rolfe. 
Ovary r-celled with parietal placentas; seeds fusiform. 
Leaves plicate ; perianth persistent ; sepals valvate 
6. CypripEpIuM, L. 
Leaves conduplicate ; perianth deciduous 3 sepals imbricate 
7. PAPHIOPEDIUM, Pfitz. 
The history of this group is somewhat curious. For a long period all 
the known species were referred to Cypripedium, but in 1846 Lindley 
described the curious Uropedium Lindeni as a new genus of Cypripedie, 
differing in its long tailed lip. In 1854 Reichenbach pointed out that it 
had also the three-celled ovary of the Apostasiez, as had also the Tropical 
American species of Cypripedium, which latter he separated under the 
name of Selenipedium, gnising two sections, one with tall leafy stems 
and plicate leaves, the other stemless, and with coriaceous leaves. It has 
subsequently been proved that Uropedium is simply an abnormal state of 
Selenipedium caudatum, and the former has been suppressed, it being 
impossible to retain a name which would have been perpetually erroneous, 
the lip of the normal forms not being tailed. In 1882 Dr. Pfitzer removed 
the species of Selenipedi with i 
P ‘ous leaves, and united them with 
the Old World Cypripediums of similar habit, under the name of 
Paphiopedilum (Morph. Stud. Orchideenbl., p. 1x), the characters relied upon 
being the conduplicate leaves and deciduous perianth. This arrangement 
has given rise to some discussion, which it is not necessary to repeat here, 
though a few remaks must be made as to the validity of the above 
arrangement. _ ‘ 
: It is quite evident that here are four perfectly natural groups with well- 
defined characters. Selenipedium is neatly cut off from the other three by 
its globose crustaceous seeds, as in Apostasiex, and Paphiopedi (in the 
restricted sense here employed) by the imbricate Bepals. Dr. Pfitzer has 
