STAN HOPE A WARDII.
S. W*%1'dii; racemo pendulo multifloro, sepalis lateralibus subrotundo-oblongis con-
cavis acutis basi alt& connatis, petalis lanceolatis undulatis revolutis, hypochilio
sessili angusto saccato intus tuberculato medio angustiore marginibus approximatis
depressis complanatis basi connatis, mesochilio utrinque cornuto in medio sinu
cornuura foveato, epichilio cornuum longitudine subrotundo-ovato acuto indiviso
marginibus recurvis.
S. Wardii, Loddiges in litt.
The species of this genus are so easy to cultivate, and with good management they produces
their beautiful and singular' flowers in such great abundance, that every addition to their number
becomes an object of great interest. That now figured was sent to England from La Guayra by
Mr. Ward, after whom it has been named by Mr. Loddiges, to whom I am indebted for the specimen
that furnished the accompanying figure. It has also been sent me by Mr. Barker of Birmingham,,
who obtained his plant from Messrs. Lowe and Go. of Clapton, and who speaks of its appearance
as being very striking, when its flowers, eight in each raceme, first expanded.
It differs from Stanhopea quadricornis in the lower part of the lip not having a strong horn
on each side; from S; oculata, in the lip being sessile, not stipitate, and a great deal shorter in
proportion to the other parts ; and from S. saccata, an unpublished species of Mr. Bateman’s, in the
middle segment of the lip not being 3-lobed, in the sharpness of the petals, and in the form of the’
horns of the lip.
I am not aware of any thing in the foliage or pseudo-bulbs which deserves particular notice, or
indeed in any other part except the flower. As is usual in this genus the distinctions between- the
species principally consist in variations of the form of the parts of that organ. The s e p a l s are a clear
bright yellow, rather paler on the outside than on the inside, and strongly dotted with small' scattered
blotches of crimson; those in front of the flower are roundish-oblong, concave, acute, and united
for some distance' b y the base of their anterior margin. The p e t a l s are of a clearer and paler
yellow, and are blotched with Crimson in a similar manner; they have a lanceolate form, are very
sharp pointed, much undulated, and rolled back till their points overlap behind the intermediate
sepal. The l i p is nearly sessile; the lower half or hypochilium is very thick and fleshy,,
hollowed out at the base, a little contracted in the middle, about three-quarters of an inch long, and
half an inch wide ; its edges are depressed, as if they were planed smooth, almost touch each other
throughout, and are actually united at the base ; its colour is a deep yellow-orange, with four large
deep crimson blotches near the base; the middle or mesochilium is prolonged on each side into two,
curved,, sharp-pointed, fleshy horns, between whose bases there is a little foramen with an elevated
fleshy border on one side; the upper end or epichilium is roundish-ovate, fleshy, sharp-pointed,
undivided,, concave in the centre, with the edges curved downwards: both, it and the middle are
a light yellow,- delicately dotted with crimson.
The inside of the hollow base of the'lip is covered over with numerous round tubercles, which
give it the singularly rich and sparkling appearance of a grotto lined with purple and yellow spar.
Its outside is also studded with little elevations, but they are hardly visible to the naked eye, or, only