17 



CALANTHE DENSIFLORA. 



(D&nse-floiocred Calanthe.) 

 LINNEAN SYSTEM. NATURAL ORDER. 



GYNANDRIA MONANDRIA. ORCHIDACEffi, § VANDE/E. — {Lindl. Nat. SySt. Bot.) 



GENERIC CHARACTER. 



Calanthe (R. Br- in Bot. Reg.) Perianthium explanatum, liberum, vel sepalis lateralibus 

 labello paululum adnatis, sub-eequale. Labellum cum columna connatuni, lobatum vel integrum, 

 calcaratum vel muticum, disco lamellatum vel tuberculatum. Columna brevis, rostello saepius 

 rostrato. Pottinia 8, basi valde attenuata, quaternatim glandulee bipartibili adhserentia. Ter- 

 restres, scapis erectis multifloris. Folia lata, plicata. Flores albi, aut lilacini, raro lutei. — 

 Lindl. Gen. et Sp. Orch. 249. 



Perianth explanate, free, or with the lateral sepals slightly adhering to the lip, somewhat' 

 equal. Lip cohering with the column, lobed or entire, with or without a spur, the disc lamel- 

 lated or tubercled. Column short, rostellum more frequently beaked. Pollen-masses 8, tapering 

 very much at the base, adhering by fours to a bipartible gland. Terrestrial plants, with erect 

 many-flowered scapes. Leaves broad, folded. Flowers white or lilac, rarely yellow. 



SPECIFIC CHARACTER. 



C. densiflora ; scapo foliis multo breviore ; squamis laxis ventricosis ; racemis densis 

 multifloris corymbosis ; bracteu oblongo-lanceolatis concavis caducis ; labello trilobo cum columna 

 parum connato, lobis lateralibus erectis apice recurvis, intermedio cuneato bilobo, disco bilamel- 

 lato ; calcare longo recto pendulo apice clavato. 



Descr. — Scape much shorter than the leaves, with lax ventricose scales ; racemes dense, 

 many-flowered, corymbose ; bracteas oblong-lanceolate, concave, falling early ; Up 3-lobed, 

 slightly connate with the column ; lateral lobes erect, recurved at the apex, the middle one 

 wedge-shaped, 2-lobed, with a bilamellated disc ; spur long, straight, pendulous, club-shaped at 

 the apex. 



Calanthe Densiflora. — Lindl. in Wall. Cat. No. 7344. Gen. et. Sp. Orch. p. 250. Bot. Reg. 



A terrestrial species, with a short creeping root-stock, and oblong-lanceolate 

 folded leaves. Scape from nine to twelve inches long, with about three loose 

 ventricose scales, copiously marked with minute red spots. Flowers of a delicately 

 pale yellow, arranged in a dense many-flowered corymbose raceme, with a bractea 

 of the same colour, but somewhat paler, at the base of each pedicel, and extending 

 above the apex of the germ. Sepals and petals equal, converging. Labellum 



