ORCHIDACEAE QUAEDAM AMERICANAE 
to the authenticity of the records of the height to which 
Selenipedium chica grows. It will be remembered that 
Duchassaing’s specimens were said to be from twelve to 
fifteen feet high. Powell describes his specimens as being 
from ten to twelve feet high, with branches along the upper 
part of the stems. In other words, Selenipedium chica is 
the tallest orchid known to science. 
When I examined the specimens of Selenipedium in 
the Reichenbachian Herbarium at Vienna, I was unable to 
find the type of S. chica. The only record of the species 
that I saw was a duplicate of the plate published in Xenia 
Orchidacea. Perhaps Reichenbach did not have speci¬ 
mens. From the plate, which is, I fear, a bit enhanced by 
the imagination of its maker, I have arrived at the conclu¬ 
sion that the flowers observed were simply expanding buds, 
those represented on nearly mature capsules having been 
restored from the remains of withered flowers. The flowering 
period is a long one, as both fruits and buds are present 
simultaneously. Furthermore, only one or two flowers 
expand at a time to exhibit full perfection of floral develop¬ 
ment. The more mature buds of Powell’s alcoholized 
material look suspiciously like the supposedly mature 
flowers of Reichenbach’s plate. From this observation I 
conclude that the disparity in size between the flowers of 
Powell’s specimens and the flowers of Reichenbach’s plate 
is explained. 
Panama, Canal Zone, C. W. Powell, November 1922; 
Powell 258, November 1922. Grows in semi-shade in damp, 
cool places. Flowers open in succession, and if not pol¬ 
linated the first day fall off at nightfall. 200-300 feet 
altitude: Ancon Hill, Ellsworth P. Killip 3034, September 
22, 1917. In dense woods. (Buds, expanded flowers, and 
fruits present simultaneously in the same inflorescence.) 
175 meters altitude. 
Plate 1. Plant slightly less than life-size, drawn 
from speeimens collected in the Republic of Panama by 
G. W. Powell. 1, dorsal sepal. 2, petal. 3, lateral sepals. 
4, labellum. 5, diagrammatic suggestion of the height of 
the plant. 6, gynostemium, viewed from the under side. 
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