timber!1™™-}         Botany  and  Materia  Medica.  613 
in  the  Botanic  Gardens  of  Jamaica  and  Trinidad,  but  there  is  no 
evidence  of  its  fruit  being  of  any  commercial  value. 
Vanilla  Pompona  Schiede. — General  habit  of  V.  planifolia  Andr, 
but  leaves  large,  6  to  11  inches  long,  \y2  to  4^  inches  broad. 
Bracts  larger  and  rather  more  fleshy;  pedicels  yellow-green;  sepals 
and  petals  3  to  3%  inches  long,  greenish  yellow.  Lip  bright  yel- 
low, nerves  somewhat  thickened,  central  tuft  consisting  of  descending 
imbricated  scales  rather  than  hairs.  Capsule  linear-oblong,  strongly 
trigonous,  6  to  7  inches  long,  ito  ij(  inches  broad.  Habitat,  south- 
eastern Mexico,  Papantla  and  Colipa,  valley  of  the  Cordova,  Nicar- 
agua, Panama,  Columbia,  Tolima,  Venezuela,  Trinidad,  British 
Guiana,  Surinam,  Cayenne.  Cultivated  in  Martinique,  Guadaloupe 
and  possibly  other  localities.  This  species  is  much  more  widely 
diffused  than  V.  planifolia,  and  its  fruit  has  long  been  known  as  ait 
article  of  commerce,  being  now  usually  sold  under  the  name  of  West 
Indian  Vanillons.  It  is  the  "  Grosse  Vanille  "  of  Aublet,  the  "Bay- 
nilla  de  acguiles  "  of  Humboldt,  and  the  "  Baynilla  Pompona"  of 
Schiede,  The  pods  are  more  difficult  to  dry,  and  they  fetch  a  much 
lower  price  in  the  market. 
Vanilla  Gardneri  Rolfe. — Stems  fleshy  thick  ;  leaves  •  subsessile, 
oblong,  obtuse,  fleshy;  raceme  short,  thick;  bracts  ovate  obtuse,  rigid, 
prominent;  sepals  petal-like,  linear,  lanceolate  sub-obtuse;  lip  oblong 
sub-entire,  faintly  submembranaceous,  nerves  scarcely  thickened;  disc 
subpubescent  crested,  column  clavate,  capsule /unknown.  Habitat, 
Brazil,  in  dry,  rocky  places,  Paranagua,  Nativid^'de,  Pernambuco,  Para. 
A  species  allied  to  V.  Pompona,  Schiede,  b'it  with  leaves  about  half 
the  size,  longer  racemes,  with  smaller  not  reflexed  bracts,  and  rather 
smaller,  more  membranous  flowers.  Gardner  confounded  it  with 
V%  planifolia  Andr.,  and  remarked  :  "  This  is  the  plant  which  yields 
the  vanilla  in  Brazil,  though,  unfortunately,  his  specimens  are  with- 
out fruit.  There  are  pods  in  the  Kew  museum  labelled  <  Brazilian 
or  Bahia  Vanilla,'  which  are  5J2  inches  long  by  fully  1  inch  broad, 
fleshy  and  distinctly  triquetrous,  and  thus  approaching  those  of  V. 
Pompona,  but  with  a  rank  odor.  These  are  probably  produced  by 
the  present  species.  V.  appendiculata,  Rolfe,  is  indigenous  to 
British  Guiana.  The  fruit  is  aromatic,  but  it  is  uncertain  if  it  has 
any  economic  value." 
V.  odorata,  Presl,  of  Ecuador,  Guayaquil,  is  only  known  from  de- 
scription. Presl  remarks  that,  although  fruits  had  been  collected 
thirty-six  years,  they  still  retained  their  aromatic  fragrance. 
