Orchidantha.\ 
CXL. LOWIACEiE. 
293 
long, 4 in. wide, narrowed to the petiole. Flowers solitary axillary. 
Bracts long purple. Calyx tube 3 in. long, lobes 5 in. long, 1 in. 
across, purple. Petals linear acuminate, 1 in. long, yellowish. 
Lip clawed obovate, 4 in. long, 2 in. across, cream-colour or lilac, 
claw purple, 3-lobed at tip; midlobe toothed. Stamens as long 
as petals. Style long and slender. Stigmas large linear with 
numerous teeth rising from a cup. All purple. Hab. Common 
in forests in wet spots, but rarely flowering. Malacca. Selangor, 
Ulu Langat; Klang Gates (very large); Batu Caves. Perak, 
ICinta Valley (Scortechini); Temengoh; Gunong Kerbau (Haniff). 
Native name : Lobak hutan. 
(2) O. maxillarioides Ridl. Lowia maxillarioides Hook. fit. 
Bot. Mag. t. 7351; Ridl. Mat. ii. 62. Protamomum maxillarioides 
Ridl. Trans. Linn. Soc. iii. 383. 
Tufted plant, about 1 to 2 ft. tall. Leaves elliptic-lanceolate 
acuminate, 8 in. long, 3 in. wide; petioles 1 to 2 ft. long. Panicle 
3 in. long. Calyx tube 3 in. long, purple, lobes lanceolate acute, 
1-25 in. long, deep purple. Petals very small oblong mucronate- 
violet. Lip oblong blunt, claw short, white tinted violet, 1-5 in, 
long, -5 in. wide. Stamens thick short. Style short and thick, 
arms short toothed. Capsule 1-5 in. long, fusiform 3-angled acumin¬ 
ate purple. Seeds flask-shaped, brown hairy, Hab, Rare. Dense 
forests. Pahang, forests at Pulau Tawar (Ridley). 
Order CXLI. MUSACE^. 
Gigantic tree-like herbs with broad oblong leaves transversely 
nerved, long-petioled. Inflorescence spicate (or panicled) with 
large bracts persistent or caducous. Calyx tubular or free. Petals 
3 or tubular. Stamens 5; filaments slender. Staminode 1 or o. 
Style slender. Stigma 3- to 5-lobed. Fruit baccate (or capsular). 
Seeds numerous or few. Species about 60, all tropics. 
The Heliconias of S. America and Polynesia and the Ravenala, Traveller’s 
Tree of Madagascar, cultivated in our gardens belong to this order. 
1. MUSA, Linn. 
Gigantic herbs, stem of convolute leaf sheaths. Leaves oblong 
very large. Spike deflexed or erect. Bracts ovate coloured 
leathery or herbaceous. Flowers sessile in rows in the bracts, 
lower ones female, upper ones male. Calyx tubular, 3- to 
5-toothed, split on one side. Corolla as long, tubular. Stamens 5 
(6th rudimentary or o), filaments filiform. Anthers linear. Style 
filiform. Fruit an oblong berry, fleshy sub-trigonous. Seeds 
numerous angled. Species 35, tropics of Old World. 
Musa sapientum Linn., the banana or plantain, Pisangof the Malays, is largely 
cultivated for fruit. Its origin is uncertain, probably India in part, but j 
think some of the Malay varieties are derived from M. malaccensis. 
