894 



JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



Mirk Woolward points out in "The Genus Masdevallia" that the two 

 names refer to the same plant, and that Reichenbach's name of trinema 

 has priority. It comes from the Cauca. Not only is it one of the rarest 

 of Masdevallias, but it is also one of the most beautiful, and one which 

 always attracts the attention of visitors. It thrives in the cool orchid - 

 house, and is quite a free grower. 



The very limited section of Masdevallias known as Echidnae is 

 now represented in many collections by M. muscosa. This curious little 

 plant is interesting on account of the hairy peduncle, the hairy surface 

 being interrupted where the small scale-like bracts lie close round the 

 stem, and the irritable lip, which closes up when touched. 



There is a much more uncommon species, namely, M. Xipheres, 

 which also has the hairy peduncle and the sensitive lip. In this species 

 the leaves are larger than those of ill", muscosa, and the surface is 

 rougher. The flowers are brown, not yellow ; the lip is rather spathulate 

 than cordate ; there are three well-marked raised veins running to each 

 tail, and the tails are spreading, not crossed, as they are in H. muscosa. 

 Further, the flowers are curiously compressed, as if they had been squeezed 

 between the finger and thumb. Rolfe deals with this section in the 

 " Orchid Review " for August 1902, p. 228, and gives some very 

 interesting information about it. 



Masdevallia triglochin belongs to another section of the genus, 

 Triaristellae, which contains several very pretty species with minute 

 flowers, and it certainly is the most uncommon of those in cultivation. 

 It might be confused with M. gemmata, but it can readily be distin- 

 guished by the curious pouch-like spur which looks like a hump on the 

 back of the flower. It comes from Ecuador. 



Lastly, I may draw attention to M. peruviana, named by Rolfe in 

 April 1902 from the Glasnevin plant. Rolfe at first considered it 

 identical with M. auropurpurea, but when they flowered together he 

 made the new species M. peruviana, and described it in the " Kew 

 Bulletin." It is a very distinct and pretty species. 



