NEW OR N()1’]<:W0RTIIY ORCHIDS 
sicci atropurpurei. Sepala lateralia late ovata, tri- vel quad- 
rinervia, intus minute glandulosa. Sepalum dorsalc simile, 
quinquenervium. Petala cuneala, trans apicem truncatum 
valde incrassata, trinervia. Labellum rhombicum, obtusum, 
valde incrassatum. Columna generis. 
Secondary stems 3 cm. or more long, partly concealed 
by an elongated loosely appressed sheath, monophyllous. 
Leaf including the short petiole 8-10 cm. long, 1.6 cm. wide, 
elliptic-oblong, obtuse, coriaceous, much shorter than the 
raceme. Peduncle solitary in the axil of the leaf, emerging 
from a spathaceous bract, with the raceme 17-21 cm. long, 
slender. Raceme 11-13.5 cm. long, up to 18-llowered. 
Bracts of the raceme 1.5-2 mm. long, infundibuliform, with a 
wide mouth. Pedicels slender, with the ovary about 3 mm. 
long. Flowers about 7 mm. across, dark purple when dry, 
fleshy. Lateral sepals 3 mm. long, 4 mm. wide, broadly 
ovate, asymmetrical, 3-4-nerved, minutely glandular on the 
inner surface. Dorsal sepal 4.5 mm. long, 5 mm. wide below 
the middle, broadly ovate, 5-nerved, minutely glandular on 
the inner surface. Petals about 1 mm. long, 2 mm. wide 
across the truncate apex, cuneate, thickened across the 
tip, 3-nerved. Labellum .5-.75 mm. long, about 1 mm. wide, 
rhombic, obtuse, very fleshy, with the margins more or less 
thickened and erect. Column dilated upward. 
Stelis propinqua is closely allied to S. curvata Schltr., 
from which it differs in the larger flowers, and in the shape 
of the petals and labellum. it leucopogon Reichb. f. is also 
closely allied, but has larger flowers in which the lateral 
sepals are distinctly 5-nerved, and the labellum different. 
In Stelis propinqua the lateral sepals are sometimes 3-nerved 
and 4-nerved in the same flower. 
Costa Rica, probably near Cachi, C. //. Lankesler 468. 
(Type in Herb. Ames No. 26957.) 
Stelis vestita Ames sp. nov. Radices crasse libratae, 
elongatae, glabrae, albidae. Rhizoma valde abbreviatum. 
Caules secundarii caespitosi, erecti, vaginis elongatis tubu- 
latis laxe appressis omnino obtecti, monophylli. Vaginae in 
sicco plurisulcatae, brunneae, apice plus minusve truncatae. 
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