^"sepTMm^"  }  Source  of  the  ^adix  Galangce  Minorw.  409 
ers  with  an  oblong  concave  bract- 
let  at  their  base.*  Labellum  "  yel- 
lowish, minutely  punctated  with 
dull  red,  and  with  veins  of  a  deep 
dull  red  color"  (Thw.),t  its  veins 
thickish. 
The  fruits  of  both  species,  when  known,  may  afford  other  marks 
of  distinction. 
A  description  of  the  Lesser  Galangal  plant,  for  which  I  propose 
the  name  of  Alpinia  officinarum,  drawn  up  very  carefully  from  living 
specimens,  may  fitly  bring  these  notes  to  a  close : 
Alpinia  officinarum,  n.  sp.  Rhizomatibus  longe  repentibus  atque 
intertextis  cylindraceis  6-9  lineas  circiter  diaraetro  rufo-brunneis 
glaberrimis  squamis  magnis  pallidioribus  fibrosis  demum  secedentibus 
annulosque  irrugulares  siauosos  albidos  relinquentibus  copiose  in- 
structis,  caulibus  2^-3^-pedalibus,  foliis  bifariis  longe  vaginantibus 
coriaceis  glaberrimis  nitidis  anguste  lanceolatis  basi  angustatis  sed 
non  petiolatis  exquisite  attenuatis  9-14  poll,  longis  medio  10-12  lin. 
latis  ligula  magna  (9-15  lin.  longa)  oblonga  scariosa  erecta  basi 
decurrente  vaginas  marginaote  apice  acutiuscula  auctis,  racemo 
terminali  siraplici  erecto  densifloro  brevi  (plerumque  baud  4-polli- 
cari)  foliis  superato,  rachi  tenuiter  toraentella,  bracteisj  spathaceis 
involucrantibus  binis  exteriore  viridi  nunc  folio  abbreviato  coronata 
interiore  alba  ambabus  demum  extus  stramineo-arefactis  nitidis  intra 
margiueque  scariosis  cucuUatis  flore  pluries  longioribus  vel  simul 
*  Described  by  Roxburgh  as  "solitary,  boat- shaped,  white,  1-flowered,"  and 
shown  in  the  Bot.  Reg.  plate,  and  also  (so  far  as  I  can  make  out  from  the 
sketch)  in  that  in  Roscoe,  but  omitted  in  Wight's  figure.  Quite  conspicuous  in 
all  Dr..  Thwaites's  specimens. 
t  Roxburgh  describes  the  labellum  as  *'  deeply  colored  with  dark  purple  veins 
on  a  yellow  ground."  The  Bot.  Reg.  plate  represents  it  as  crimson  in  the 
centre,  with  a  broad  yellow  border,  into  which  veins  from  the  centre  run,  though 
not  very  conspicuously ;  whilst  my  copy  of  Roscoe's  figure  gives  an  oblong 
yellow  centre  dotted  with  crimson,  and  a  broader  margin  striated  with  red  and 
yellow,  the  latter  color  slightly  predominating.  (Jonsidering  the  variation  in 
color  of  the  flowers  of  Canna,  and  the  differences  of  shade  and  marking  in  the 
labella  of  many  cultivated  epiphytes  of  the  allied  order  Orchidacece,  it  is  per- 
haps unsafe  to  attach  any  considerable  weight  to  a  character  of  this  kind. 
J  Though  these  exist  equally  in  J.,  ca/cara^a,  it  is  curious  that  Roxburgh 
makes  no  allusion  to  them  ;  he  would  have  called  the  two  anmvolucre.  There 
is  likewise  no  indication  of  them  in  the  figures  of  the  "  Botanical  Register," 
Roscoe,  or  Wight. 
