ORCHIDACEAE QUAEDAM AMERICANAE 
Rhizome or primary stem elongated, rigid, about 7 mm. 
in diameter, terete, clothed with tubular closely oppressed 
sheaths, branching, bearing at intervals tufts of coriaceous 
rigid leaves that are articulated with conduplicative persist¬ 
ent imbricating bases: leafy shoots arising 10 cm. apart. 
Leaves ligulate, 7-14 cm. long, up to 2 cm. wide, tapering 
gradually to the apex, conduplicate at base where they 
are jointed with a persistent base from which they are soon 
deciduous, ring of articulation protuberant; leaf-base con- 
duplicate, up to 2.5 cm. long. Flowers axillary in dense 
tufts, arising from crowded sheath-like bracts. Pedicels 
exceeding the bracts, rugose in dried specimens, rigid, with 
the ovary about 1 cm. long. Perianth 8-9 mm. long, with 
the segments hardly spreading. Lateral sepals about 8 mm. 
long, about 4 mm. wide near the base, concave, ovate- 
lanceolate, conspicuously thickened at the subobtuse tip, 
forming with the base of the labellum a blunt rounded 
mentum, 5-nerved. Dorsal sepal similar. Petals shorter 
than the sepals, 7 mm. long, about 3 mm. wide below the 
middle, ovate-oblong, obtuse, concave. Labellum very 
fleshy, simple, 4.1 mm. long, lanceolate, obtuse, thickened 
dorso-ventrally above the middle, rostriform at the apex, 
the apical margin membranaceous and involute, very 
slightly thickened, but shortly concave below the middle, 
3-nerved, ecallose. Column fleshy, 2.5 mm. long, erect, 
produced at base into a thick foot. Pollinia four, attached 
to a membranaceous subquadrate disc, sessile, pyriform. 
Costa Rica, San Isidro de Heredia, H. Pittier (Herb. 
Instit. physico-geogr. nat. costaricensis No. 14048), Sep¬ 
tember 1900. Arbres du les paturages de Las Lajas. 
1500 meters altitude. (Type in Herb. Ames No. 21754.) 
