APHELANDRA AURANTIACA. 
(Oracge-scavlet Aphelandra.) 
Class. Order. 
DID YN AMI A. ANGIOSPERMI A. 
Natural Order. 
ACANTHACEJE. 
Generic Character.— Calyx five-parted, unequal. 
Corolla hypogynous, lingent; upper lip somewhat 
arched, bidentate ; lower-lip three-cleft, the lateral 
segments many times smaller. Stamens four, inserted 
in the tube of the corolla, included, didynamous 
Anthers one-celled, awnless. Ovary two celled ; cells 
each containing two ovules. Style simple. Stigma 
two-cleft. Capsule nearly terete, two-celled, four- 
seeded, loculicido-two-valved. Seeds compressed, sub- 
tended by hooks. 
Specific Character. — Plant a dwarf evergreen shrub. 
Leaves oblong-acuminate, deflexed, glabrous, undulated 
at the base, decurrent on the short petiole. Spike 
simple, tetragonal. Bracts ovate, acuminated, serrated. 
Flowers orange-scarlet. Corolla segments ovate, very 
acute ; lateral ones twice shorter than the inter- 
mediate one. 
Synonyme — Ilemisandra aitrantiaca. 
Our stoves are largely indebted for tlieir adornment during winter to the 
beautiful blossoms of the many superb species of Acanths, now so commonly dis- 
tributed. Among them, the old A. cristata has long been eminent for its noble 
appearance, when well cultivated and in full flower ; but notwithstanding its high 
character, it is quite eclipsed by the transcendent beauty of its more recently 
introduced congener. 
Judging from the specimens we have seen in bloom, the A. aurantiaca would 
appear to be a plant possessing a much dwarfer habit. None of these plants 
exceeded a foot in height, and some scarcely reached six inches before the deve- 
lopment of flower-spikes. The stems were remarkably stout, each carrying on 
the summit from one to three heads of blossom. It is possible, however, that this 
may, in some measure, be the result of treatment ; for we know that it is easy to 
get flowers of A. cristata from specimens not much taller. When the flowers 
first open, they are almost yellow ; but they soon deepen to an intensely vivid 
orange scarlet, far beyond the reach of artificial colouring. Besides this, they 
differ from those of A. cristata in the middle segment of the lower lip being flat, 
shorter, and broader ; and the two side divisions much larger, in proportion to the 
intermediate one. 
We learn, through a letter from M. de Jonghe, of Brussels, published in the 
April Number of the " Botanical Register," that this magnificent shrub was dis- 
covered in Mexico by Messrs. Linden and Funcke, collectors for the Belgian 
Government ; and the only living specimen transmitted, was presented to King 
