outer ones, neatly imbricated over each other at the
b ase; of rather a lighter colour than the tube, more
inclining to flesh-colour, with a green stripe down the
back of each. Crown short, attached to the mouth of the
tube, membranaceous, erect, campanulate, bearing 6
segments between the stamens : segments spreading,
broadly linear, each forked or two-toothed, of a yellowish
green. Stamens 6, seated on the crown, scarcely
so long as the segments of the limb : the filaments running
down the tube, alternate with the forked segments:
jilaments erect, a little dilated at the base, tapering to a
slender point, and attached to the back of the anthers,
which all face inwards : anthers linear, two-lobed : pollen
composed of numerous small cylindrical grains, connected
with a sort of stringy web. Style smooth, slender,
extended a little beyond the stamens at first, but growing
to a great length after. Stigma simple, obtuse,
obsoletely 3-sided, papillose.
Our drawing of this grand, and certainly very distinct genus, was
made from a strong bulb in full flower, sent to us by the kindness of
Mr. Joseph Knight, from his Nursery, in the King’s-road, Chelsea,
who received it from Quito, a Province of Peru, with some others,
about two years ago, and it has now flowered with him for the first
time. I t was first discovered by the noted travellers, Humboldt and
Bonpland, who found it growing on the banks of the river Machan-
gara, near Quito, at the altitude of eight thousand, nine hundred and
ten feet, above the level of the sea, so that there can be no doubt but
it will prove sufficiently hardy to endure our winters, if planted about
six inches deep in a warm border in a sheltered situation; a rich
loamy soil that is very sandy will be most proper for it, and it would
be the safest plan to cover it a little in M^inter, till such time as it has
had a fair tr ia l; as we expect it is at present very rare, not having-
heard of it in any other collection ; but when the bulbs get well established,
there can be no doubt but they will ripen seeds freely, as
we perceived there were a great quantity of immature seeds in a
withered capsule, that did not come to perfection ; the seeds appeared
to have a membranaceous winged margin, in the young state that
we examined them.
W e have named the present handsome genus in compliment to his
Royal Highness Leopold, Prince of Saxe Coburg, who is much
attached to Botanical science, and to the bulbous rooted plants in
particular, in whose collection at Claremont, several rare ones have
flowered for the first time in this country. We suspect that Pancrd-
tium aurantiacum of Kunth, will belong to the same genus: the Co-
BURGIA of Mr. Herbert, is now joined with his genus H i p p e a s -
t r u m .
1. The upper part of the flower cut off, and spread open, showing the crown on
which the 6 Stamens are fixed, the filaments inserted into the back of the anthers,
and between eacli stamen is a linear forked segment. 2. The three-sided O.varium,
terminated by the long, slender, smooth Style, that ends in a simple, blunt, obsQ-
ietely 3-sided, papillose Stigma.