2U O I ? C H I D S OF THE SIKELLI-HIUALAVA
All the spccimcns liithoi-to obtained of this have been found growing on the nodes
of the steins of bamboos, their roots twining nmongst the decaying bracts and scales
found in these situations. No plants have ever been found growing on the intcmodes.
Tlie scale or plate proceeding from the back Avail of the spur in this species is flattened,
and somewhat resembles a septum. Tlie jjlant, however, is, as we now believe, a trnc
Cleisostoma, and we therefore transfer it from Sarcmiihns in which geniis we origin ol'y
placed it.
PLATE 310.—C/CÍSOSÍOJKT Imnlimrum, Kiag and Paufling. A plant GIWUIFR ou tho node of a living
b.imhoo, of naiural sis3. Fig. I Be|->als and petals sepai-ated, 2 a flower, 3 side view of Lract, ovarj,
columu and lip, 4 section of tlxo foregoing, 5 front new of the eud of tlie spur, 6 profile view of anther,
7 poUiiiia—all enlarged-, 3 ti-ansvorso eectiou of a leaf; of naturnl size.
6. CrxisosTOMA MiCRANTnusi, King and Pantling.
Siem stoiit, comprcssed, 3 to 8 in. long, covcred by leaf-sheaths. Leaves narrowly
obloug, keeled, obliquely truncate and slightly bifid, tho base shortly sheathed; length
'2 o to 3'5 in,, breadth '5 to "6 in. Raecmas leaf-opposed, longer than tho leaves, the
peduncle and rachis stout. Fhwer$ mnnerous, but only a few expanding at a time, '2
in. across ; fioral tract broad, blunt, loss than half as long as tlic short sessile ovary.
Sepals broadly ovate, obtuse, spreading. Petals smaller tlian tho sepals, oblong, spreading.
Lip iieshy, as long as the sepals ; the base with a ^^-idc bhint spur adpressed to and
as long as tho ovary, its interior with two calli near the mouth, one on tlie back wall
and a larger one on the anterior wall; dorsal scale • abs ent ; lateral lobes small; the apical
lobe oblong, convex, bluut; the edges thin and erose, the upper surface smooth. Colimn
very short, stout, with no foot, but witli a largo ciieek-Hko protuberance on either side
of the rostellum. Anther depressed, with a long pointed beak ; polliitia two, obovoid, the
caudicle triangular, cordate or oblong, much larger than the triangular gland. Saceolabium
mieranihum, Lindl. in WaW. Cat, T;300 ; Gon. and Spec. Orch. 220. Saunder's Kefug.
13otan., t, 110 ; Hook. fil. Fl, 13r. Ind. Vi, ÚO.
Siklvim, at elevations from 2,000 to 3,000 feet) in flower during July and August;
Pantling No. 78. Westward along the range to Delira Dhoon, and eastward to
Ehotan ; also in the Naga and Khasia Hills and in Tcnasseiim.
The sepals and petals arc white with large pink spots, the lip is entii-ely pink
or purple. The caudicle of the pollinia varies in form and is always fragile. In the
Sikldm plant the spnr of the lip equals the sepals in length, and the callus at tlie
mouth of the spur is large and solitaiy, not double. As this callus protrudes so as to
meet a smaller callus projecting from the posterior wall and thus to close the opening
into the spur, the species is removed from Saccolahium to the genus Cleisostoma.
PL.VTE 312.—Cleimtoma miernnthum. King and Pantling. A plant, of naiural sis'. Fig. 1 a üower,
2 floral bract, ovary, column with anther in situ, and lip, sUe view, 4 section of the foi-egoing,
3 lip, 6 apes of columu, showing the processes by tlie sides of tho rostellum, the stigma and the
anther in situ, 6 under-surfaee oí empty anther, 7 pollinia ; all enlarged.
7. CLEISOSTOMA GE-MMATUM, King and Pantling.
St:m slender, pendulous, 6 to 13 in. long. Leaves linear, curved, the margins
much infolded, sometimes almost sub-terete, minutely 3-toothed at the apes, neither
S I E B E O C H I L U S - 235
narrowed nor sheathing at the base, 2'5 to 5 in. long, and about -2 in. broad when
unfolded. Panicles axillary, slender, longer than the leave,?, their branches few and
racemose. Flowers not crowded, only "lü in. long; floral bract minute. Sepals and
petals connivent; the sepals broadly oblong, obtuse; the petals smaller, obovoid. Lip
longer than the sépala, fleshy, concave; its base witli a stout cylindiic blunt spur parallel
to the ovary and nearly as long, its interior with a small posterior and a large anterior
callus occluding the mouth; dorsal scale none; side lobes obscure; apical lobe ovaterotund,
blunt, entire, concave. Cohimii very short, thick, bearing on its sides tivo
translucent teeth. Anther dome-shaped, witli a long beak in ivi.mt-,- pollinia two, broadly
ovoid, attached by a broad flat oblong caudicle lo a much-elongated oblong gland.
Capsule oblong, curved, sub-ses.sile, '2 in. long. Saccoluhiim ^qemmaktm, Lindl. in 13ot.
Rog. 1838, Mi.sc. 50; Reichb. fil. in Walp, Ann. V, 885; Hook. til. Fl. Br. Ind. VI,
55 ; in Ann. Bot. Gard. Calc., Vol. VI, Pt. 1, 46, t. 70.
Sikkim, at elevations between 2,000 and 6,000 feet, common ; in flower during July
and August; Pantling No. I2G; Bhotan, Khasia and Jaintia Hills.
The prevailing colour in tho flower and ovary of this is purple, tho apical lobe
of the lip and the inner surface of the petals being white. The specific name given
to the plant by Lindloy is ^emmalum, and not geminaiim, as it has sometimes been
inadvertently written.
We have removed this and Saec. micranthwn from the genus Saccolahium, as the
mouth of tho spur in both is quite closed by the large caili which occur in that
situation; whereas in Saceolahiitm, as limited by the late Mr. Bentliam and by >Sir Joseph
Hooker, there is neither callus nor plate in the spur. In Cleisostoma, on the otlior hanil,
the spur is occluded by calii, or by a dor.sal plate, or by both. In this and in
S. micranthm there is no dorsal plate, bnt the occlusion of tho mouth of the spur by
calli is compílete. Moreover, both of tliem have the fades rather of Cleisostoma than of
Saccolahiiiin. The difficulty which wo found in dealing with Saccolabiuni iricJiromum,
which has calli and a ventral jjlate in its spin-, was met, as is explained in the note
following our description of that species, by retaining it as an aberrcnt Saccolahium
rather than by making a new genus for it, its fades being that of the hitter genus.
PJ.ATE. YI3;—Cleiscsicma gcmnatum, Eing and Paalling. A plant, of naiural size. I'ig. 1 part of
rachis, ovaiy and flower, side eicic, 2 bract, ovary, colimiu with anther in situ, and lip, sitio view, '¿ column»
4 scctiou of column and lip, 5 anther, siita tiu«', G pollinia, caudiclo and gland before depression, side
view, 7 and 8 the same after depression ; all enlarged.
53. Stereocliilus, LincU.
Epipliytal. Stem sliort. Leaves coriaccous, narrowly oblong, usually bifid at the apex.
Raccmes extra-axillary, drooping, lax, many-flowered, glandular-pufccscent, (glabrous in one
spccie.s). Sepals sub-equal, spreading. Petals smaller tiian tho sepals, spreading. Lip
about as long as tlie sepals, fleshy, sessile on the base of the column, spurred, obscm-cly
3-lobcd ; tho side-lobes small, triangular, erect, acute or minutely bifid ; the apical lobe
mucli larger, concave ; tho interior of the spur occluded by two antero-posterior thick
calli. Column short, nearly straight; rostellum subulate, horizontal, directed forwards or
to one side. Anther depressed, apical, with a long teak ; pollinia four, piano-con vox,
A s s , ROT. EOT. GARD,, CAI , VCL. VIII.