SOPHRONITIS GRAND I FLOR A. 
(Large-flowered Sophronitis.) 
Class. Order. 
GYNANDRIA. MONANDRIA. 
Natural Order. 
ORCHID ACEiE. 
Generic Character. —Pollen -masses eight, parallel 
before and behind ; caudicula double, covered with 
powder; gland none. Anthers terminal, furnished 
with a lid, eight-celled. Stigma concave, with an ob- 
tuse beak. Column free, winged on both sides at the 
summit ; wings entire, connivent above the crest of the 
lip. Labellum entire, cucullate, tongue-shaped, connate 
with the base of the column. 
Specific Character.— Plant an epiphyte, Pseudo- 
bulbs small, oblong, tapering towards the summit, one- 
leaved. Leaves oblong, somewhat acute, thick. Flowers 
issuing from the top of the young pseudo-bulbs, appa- 
rently solitary.. Sepals ovate-lanceolate, acute. Petals 
very broadly ovate, nearly obtuse. Lip three-lobed ; 
side lobes folding over the column ; middle one oblong, 
acute. 
Such is the comparative smallness of this exquisite Orchidaceous plant, that we 
have had it introduced into our drawing as it was growing, including the block of 
wood on which it was fastened. Those who have no opportunity of seeing the living 
specimen, will thus learn its genuine habit, and persons who are not accustomed 
to witness Orchidacese, will gain a general idea of the epiphytal nature of the 
tribe. 
S. cernua, which is similarly dwarf, and has smaller pseudo-bulbs, grows very 
much in the same manner, and produces its numerous racemes of pretty red 
blossoms about the present period. They last for several weeks, and the species is 
one of the prettiest of epiphytes. 
The plant before us is, however, much finer than S. cernua. It is larger in 
all its parts, but the blossoms, particularly, are three or four times the size, and 
exceedingly showy. Hitherto, they have been borne solitary, from the summit 
of the younger pseudo-bulbs, though it is quite possible that they may hereafter 
appear in racemes, like those of its ally. For so diminutive a plant, the size of 
the flowers is really extraordinary, and the stalk is made to curve downwards, 
apparently with the weight of the blossom. The colour is a rich cinnabar, 
variously tinted with crimson and orange, and pale orange or deep yellow in the 
centre. When in flower, the plant is not unlike a dwarf Cattleya, and this 
appearance, combined with the novelty of its colour in relation to that genus, makes 
it peculiarly interesting. 
vol. ix. — no. cv. c c 
