121 
LiELIA AUTUMNALIS. 
(autumnal-flowering l^lia,) 
CLASS. OIlDKIl. 
GYNANDRIA. MONANDRIA. 
NATURAL ORDER. 
ORCHIDACEiE. 
Generic Character. — Vide Vol. iv. p, 73. 
Specific Character. — Plant epiphytal. Pseudo-bulbs ovate, terete, ribbed, attenuated towards the 
summit, two or three leaved. Leaves oblong-linear, spreading, much shorter than the flower 
scape. Scape cylindrical, bearing six or more flowers. Bracts oblong, membranaceous, acute. 
Sepals lanceolate, acuminate, spreading. Petals oblong-lanceolate, undulated. Labellum three- 
lobed, two-plated, lateral lobes erect, rounded, truncate, middle one oblong-lanceolate, reflexed at the 
point. Ovarium smooth. 
One of the most charming features in orchidaceous plants, is the peculiar deli- 
cacy and transparency of their flowers. In many kinds, this is so remarkable as 
to present a vitreous appearance, which, in the absence of colour, might easily be 
mistaken for a production of art, or, if the tenuity of their texture were not sc 
perceptible, a genuine crystallization. 
Laslias, in common with Cattleyas, and some species of Dendrobium, possess 
this character in a distinguished degree ; and amongst these, our present subject 
occupies a prominent station. The different members of the flowers, especially the 
exterior ones, such as the sepals and petals, seem to be thickly studded with 
minute, glassy, and shining specks, which are apparently slight indentations, and 
impart to them, when viewed obliquely, a most interesting and strikingly lustrous 
surface. These lucid and colourless spots, by being intersected with a pale blush, 
pink, or lilac tint, as is the case with L. autumnalis^ in which all these shades are 
present, and gradually merge into each other, are exhibited more vividly, and by 
their contrast render the blossoms additionally attractive. 
The lovely plant now figured is a native of Mexico, from whence it was 
received in this country a few years since. Although a great number of specimens 
are said to have been distributed by the Horticultural Society, it certainly at present 
VOL. VI. NO. LXYI. R 
