which accompanied the present specimen on the 4th of Ja- 
nuary last: “ Orcuts longibracteata is one of the rarest species 
“ found in Sicily, nor had I ever met with it in six years 
«“ residence on that island, until it was pointed out to me 
“by ny friend Bivona Bernardi, growing on a rich soil be- 
“hind the convent of St. Francesco di Paola, near Pa- 
“ lermo, the only spot he had ever found it on. In its na- 
“ tive place it is the first that flowers among the many little 
« known species found in Sicily, generally opening its blos- 
“ soms in the beginning of February, the depth of a Medi- 
“ terranean winter. The present plant was not taken into 
“ the greenhouse, from the open air, until after one or two 
“‘ of its flowers had expanded. ‘This circumstance, as well 
“as others convince me that we should find the (southern) - 
“ Orcuipka much less difficult to cultivate, were they 
“ treated for thé most part in a more hardy manner. Nearly 
“‘ thirty roots of species belonging to this tribe, brought 
“ three years ago from the Mediterranean, are now growing 
“in my garden, under a common frame, as vigorously as 
“in their native climate.” 
The following description is the version of that in the 
first.“ Centuria sicularum plantarum,” above quoted. 
Bulbs two, roundish. Scape cylindrical, subflexuose, 
sheathed by the lower parts of the ovate or oblongly lanceo- 
late leaves, which are streaked and shining, especially on 
the upper side. Flowers large, with a rank smell; in a 
pyramidal closeset spike. Petals converging so as to form 
a casque, rose-purple with green nerves on the outside, 
whitish green prettily marked with red dots on the inside: 
the two inner ones narrower than the exterior ones, herba- 
ceous. Label variously marked with white and purple, 
trifid, middle segment longer than the others, two-lobed, 
with an interior very short lateral appendage, sometimes 
with none; lateral segments undulated on the outside at: 
the edge: spur shorter than the three-cornered twisted ger- 
men. Column short, obtuse at the summit. Bractes green,” 
lanceolate, overtopping the casque of the corolla. 
We had no opportunity of inspecting the flower for de- 
scription after the drawing was made. 
There is an Orcuis deposited in the Banksian Herba- 
rium, by the title of foliosa, collected by Mr. Masson in the 
Island of Madeira, and which, we have little doubt, is of 
the same species with the present. 
