APHELAiNJJKA AURANTIACA. 
{ Orange-scarlet Aphelandra.) 
-.0. Order, 
LIDYNAMIa. ^vNGIOSPERMIA. 
iwuiurai order. 
ACANTHACEiE. 
fENERic Character.— five-parted, unequal. 
'olla hypogynous, ringent; upper lip somewhat 
hed, bidentate ; lower-lip three-cleft, the lateral 
ments many times smaller. Stamens four, inserted 
the tube of the corolla, included, didynamous. 
tliers one celled, awnless. Ovary two-celled ; cells 
h containing two ovules. Style simple. Stigma 
)-cleft. Capsule nearly terete, two-celled, four- 
ded, loculicido-two-valved. /Secrfs compressed, suh- 
ded by hooks. i 
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 — Hemisandra aurantiaca. 
Odr stoves are largely indebted for tbeir adornment during winter to tlie 
kutiful blossoms of the many superb species of Acanths, now so commonly dis- 
bated. Among them, the old A. cristata has long been eminent for its noble 
pearance, when well cultivated and in full flower ; but notwithstanding its high 
tlaracter, it is quite eclipsed by the transcendent beauty of its more recently 
^Wduced cono^ener. 
Judging from the specimens we have seen in bloom, the A. aurantiaca would 
pear to be a plant possessing a much dwarfer habit. None of these plants 
I ceeded a foot in height, and some scarcely reached six inches before the deve- 
iment of flower-spikes. The stems were remarkably stout, each carrying on 
summit from one to three heads of blossom. It is possible, however, that this 
iiy, in some measure, be the result of treatment ; for we know that it is easy to 
t flowers of A. cristata from specimens not much taller. When the flowers 
st open, they are almost yellow ; but they soon deepen to an intensely vivid 
ange scarlet, far beyond the reach of artificial colouring. Besides this, they 
;ffer from those of A, cristata in the middle segment of the lower lip beiitg flat, 
orter, and broader ; and the twm side divisions much larger, in proportion to the 
^termediate one. 
We learn, through a letter from M. de Jonghe, of Brussels, published in the 
fpril Number of the “ Botanical Register,” that this magnificent shrub was dis- 
vered in Mexico by Messrs. Linden and Funcke, collectors for the Belgian 
overnment ; and the only living specimen transmitted, was presented to King 
