On a New Saprophytic Monocotyledon. 
BY 
PERCY GROOM, M.A., F.L.S. 
With Plate III. 
I N 1871 Beccari 1 described a Bornean plant under the name 
of Petrosavia stellaris ; he referred the plant to the 
Melanthaceae, and mentioned that it was parasitic on roots. 
Later Mr. H. N. Ridley 2 discovered on the Malay Peninsula 
a very similar plant, which, without a minute examination 
of the flowers, seemed to be identical with Petrosavia. From 
his material I gave an account of the seed and embryo 3 . 
Recently Mr. Ridley was good enough to send me some 
more material of this plant with flowers. On investigating 
the flowers by means of microtome-sections, I found that the 
floral structure was very different from that assigned to 
Petrosavia . As none of Beccari’s plants were available for 
examination, it seemed improper to assume that his de- 
scription was imperfect : so a new name has been given to 
the plant — Protolirion paradoxum. Still Beccari’s figures of 
Petrosavia agree closely with Mr. Ridley’s plant ; and if 
1 O. Beccari, Petrosavia , Nuovo Genere di Piante Parassite della Famiglia 
delle Melanthaceae. Nuov. Giorn. Bot. Ital. T. 3, 1871. 
2 H. N. Ridley, reprint from Proceed. Asiat. Soc. Singapore, Vol. xxiv, p. 170. 
3 Percy Groom, Botanical Notes, No. 3, p. 380; Annals of Botany, Vol. vi. 
1892. 
[Annals of Botany, Vol. IX. No. XXXIII. March, 1895-] 
