THE ORCHID WORLD. 



[January, igi6. 



Masdevallia amabilis. 



Petals, lip and column concealed within the 

 sepaline lubes. 



The sepals or outermost series of perianth 

 segments are generally uniform, but numerous 

 deviations from the equality and similarity of 

 uhe three occur. The most usual deviation is 

 seen in the upper or dorsal sepal, which is 

 often of a different size and shape from the 

 lateral two, as in Renanthera coccinea, 

 Restrepia maculata and many Oncidiums. In 

 Masdevallia the three sepals are united at 

 their bases into a tube and prolonged into 

 slender tails at the free end. In Rodriguezia 

 the two lateral sepals form a boat-like body 

 of curious structure. In Cryptophoranthus 

 the two lateral sepals are not only joined 

 together but they cohere to the upper one 

 both at the base and apex, so that the flower 

 never opens, and in Comparettia they are 

 produced at their base into a long spur. In 

 Oncidium Papilio and the closely allied O. 

 Kramerianum the two lateral sepals are not 

 only of very different shape from the upper 

 one, but they are more brightly coloured 

 than the petals, an unusual occurrence in 



Oncidiums. In the genus Cypripedium the 

 two lateral sepals are always joined together 

 into a single blade, the ventral sepal, which, 

 in the Indo-Malayan species, is usually smaller 

 than the upper one. 



The equality of the two petals is constant, 

 but great diversity occurs in the part they 

 take in the general aspect of the flower, of 

 which, combined with the labellum, they are 

 often the most conspicuous ornament. But 

 m Masdevallia, Cryptophoranthus, Cirrho- 

 petalum and other genera the petals are 

 reduced to small insignificant bodies ; in 

 Masdevallia they are often quite concealed 

 within the sepaline tube, while in Cypripedium 

 Sanclenanum, C. caudatum, C. caricinum and 

 others they are considerably elongated into 

 ribbon-like tails many inches in length. In 

 some species of Coelogyne the narrow linear 



Cypripedium caricinum. 

 With ribbon-lik,e petals. 



