stamens, and a little exceeding the corollaj white below, green above, 
glabrous. Stigmas 3, variously curved, and somewhat twisted. 
This interesting plant is seen in its greatest beauty, when, 
emerging from the crown of its dark lurid leaves, the panicle 
appears covered by the large, closely-imbricated, and brilliantly- 
coloured bracteas. For, no sooner has this panicle attained its 
full size, and the flowers have protruded themselves, than the 
fine colour disappears, the bracteas soon fall away, and the 
flowers themselves exhibit little or no vividness of hue to re- 
commend them, except it be the deep blue tint which tips the 
extremities of the segments of its calyx and corolla. 
Mr LoDDiGES appears to have first figured and described 
this plant in his Botanical Cabinet^ under the name of 211- 
landsia arrmna. Mr Ker afterwards figured it in the 344th 
plate of the JBotanical Register^ with the appellation here 
adopted, from a weak plant, however, in which one of the flowers 
of each peduncle was wanting, from abortion. There is even 
in our specimen, an appearance, indicated by a short process 
at the summit of many of the pedicels, of a tendency to ramify 
still more. 
Bromelia pallida flowers readily in the tan-pit, early in 
the winter. Plants of it were sent to my collection in Suffolk, 
five years ago, by my friends Messrs Shepherd of Liver^ 
pool ; and the same liberal cultivators have likewise communi- 
cated individuals to our Glasgow Botanic Garden, from which 
the fine specimen in the accompanying drawing was taken. 
It is supposed to be a native of South America. 
Tab. 41. Plant, reduced to about |d of the natural size. Tab. 42. Panicle, 
nat. size. Fig. 1. Flower, deprived of the calyx. Fig. 2. The same, 
deprived of the calyx and corolla. Fig. 3. Germen, cut through trans- 
versely. Fig. 4. The bases of 3 Stamens, to shew the scales alternating 
with tliem. Fig. 5. Single Scale. — All more or less magnijied. 
