﻿October, 1904.] 



THE ORCHID REVIEW. 



ANCISTROCHILUS THOMSONIANUS. 



The annexed figure represents a neat little specimen of the handsome 

 Ancistrochilus Thomsonianus, which has just flowered in the Kew collec- 

 tion, and is reproduced from a photograph taken by Mr. C. P. Raffill. The 

 plant produced six racemes, two of which had three flowers each. It was 

 grown in a basket in the Warm house, in the usual compost. The sepals 

 and petals are pale lilac-pink, the side lobes of the lip light green dotted 

 with dusky brown, and the front lobe and disc bright purple. The column 

 is light green densely dotted with dusky brown. It is a charming little 

 plant, and Sir Joseph Hooker remarked, "its graceful form and the 



Fig. 43. Ancistrochilu 

 and brilliancy of its white, and the 



Tm 



of its purple, render it 

 the most beautiful Orchids of its type and habit, which remind one 

 le Coelogynes." The species is a native of West Tropical Africa, 

 it was discovered by Mr. W. Kulbreyer when collecting for Messrs. 

 Veitch and Sons, of Chelsea, and was described by Reichenbach in 

 under the name of Pachystoma Thomsoniana (Gard. Chron., 1879, 

 ), being dedicated at Mr. Kalbreyer's request to " the late Rev. George 

 pson, who was unusually kind-hearted in his English reception of the 

 an traveller." Reichenbach described it as perhaps the most curious 



