OHCHIDS OF THJÍ SIKKIM-HIMALirA.
Scpah orate, aonts. JPelab tmpoziform, blirnt op sub-acufo. lip oblong, slonderly
rtlacliecl on flic undoi- sido and in front of the gibbons baso to tho mnctprodiiood
foot of the column {see ig. 2), douUfidly mobile, fiat or yo.y sKghtly doSesod from
the middle; the apex blunt, hilobulate, the disc smooth throughout. Column Teiy short
/IniJ»- dorsal, ourrod, boated. a shalW pouch, with an erect acute arm on
either side; foUlma fom-, in paii-s, each piiir held mthiu a funnel-shaped procoss and
supported by a slender gcnicidate free caudicle; the two candidos attached to the small
shield-shaped gland. Lindl. Gon. and Spec. Orch. 23i; in Jonm. Linn Soc III 37-
Hook. ffl. Fl. Br. Ind. V, 80.
Sikiim, at cleyations from 2,000 to 3,000 feet; in flower dm-ing September and
October; eommon; Pantling Ko. 188. Westward along the range to Sepal; eastward
to Assam, Cachar and Burma.
The flowers are white, sHghtly flushed with pmk.
PL.1TI 326. -P<,«, f a Lkdl. A ptot, 0/ K, . i , „ j j
W „„r column „nther (,. .¡„. „ d Up, 3 p.U,, 4 Up, 6 ookurn »n4 .pex ol owy
tlio stignia (s), 6 empty anther, 7 polUuia; al¡ enlarged.
2. PODOCHILUS Knási-tt-us, Hook. £1. Ic. PI. 2U6.
íiüm 4 to 6 in. long, simple, slender, sub-eroct. Leaves coriaceous, Hncar-lanccolate
acute, snb-faloate, somewhat tapered to the base and articnlatcd to the yery short sheath',
•3o to -6 lu. long. Ensm terminal, erect, about -20 in. long. Fhwen thr-oc or fonp'
distichous, -15 in. long; Jleral Iraet csceeding the'sessde OTaiy, broadly oyate, acute'
persistent. Sejiab ovate, snb-acnte, connate below, the lateral pair formin" a short wide
sac (or mentnm) at the base. Petah ovate-oblong, blunt, narrowed at the base Lip
oblong, sagittate at the base, the narrow basal lobes with a claw between them
attachmg the lip to the column, the margins slightly incmycd and minutely ciliolate
towards the acute apei, the upper surface smooth. Colmm short, stent; rostollnm yery
broad, blunt. fflj™ pouched and with a narrow transverse sKt for its mouth AniMr
dorsal; poUmi« olavate, each p.aü- enclosed in a fimnel-shaped process endinn- in a short
free caudicle; the gland large, oblong, bifid below. Hook. fil. H Br Ind VI 81
P . mierephjUm, Wall. Oat. 733ÍB; Lindl. Ocn. and Spec. Orch. 234 (« ,„rf)- in
Joum. Linu. Soc. Ill, 37.
Sikkira, on Sittong, at elevations of 6,000 to 6,000 feet; in flower d.u-ing
September; PantUng Ho. 187. Khasia Hills; Hooker and Thomson. Assam; Simons
The flowoi-s are white sUghtly flushed with yeflow. The foot of the column is
produced along the front of the ovary with which it is adnate, and with the lateral
sepals it forms a small mcutiun.
P u i s Kh„l,a,, II„„t. ffl. A plant, of .Muni »a. Pi,, 1 „ ,, ' „
: „!'•. " ' " f ' f ™ * 3 4 5 ".Pty anther, W surte, 0 col™,'
7 poUmia; all ciilarged. '
6 0 . E i s l e y a , new rjenm, King and Pantling.
A small aphyllous terrestrial herb, without tuber or pseudo-bulh. Seape 2 to 5 in.
long with two sheaths at the base. Flmieri minute, fleshy, densely crowded in a short
raceme. SepaU and pelaU Bub-equal, oblong, blunt, spreading. Lip adnate to the base of
CEEATOSTYIIS. 34T
the column, about as long as the sepals, broadly ovate, very concave, fleshy, slightly
orcuulate near the hasc, otherwise entire; the apex hlunt but Avith a small upturned
apiciilus. Cohtmn short, terete; rostellum stout, elongate. Anther dorsal, persistent,
membranous, two-celled; the cells quite free and distinct, each dehiscing transversely by
the broad blunt apex. FoJlinia foiu', ia two paii's, waxy; both pairs sessile on the rather
largo oblong fleshy gland, caudicle none.
An anomalous genus with tlie pollen of Yandeao, and the liabit and general appoaranoe of
A^hyUorchk. Tiie waxy nature of the poUinia and thoir attachment to a gland luaia it, hon'cYer,
impossible to include it in the latter genus. "We find no genu3 in which it can he placed, and we have
therefore founded ono for its reception, naming it in honour of the Honourable II. 11. Eisley, ci.k.,
of the Bengal Civil Service, ono of the Secretai'ies to the Government of Bengal, a distinguished
I autlior of an important work on the Tribes and CasUs of Bongal.
Eisleya atropurpurea. King and Pantling.
Height o£ tlie whole plant 2-5 to 5 in. SImtlis at the base of tho leafless scape
wide, tubular, blunt, -5 to 1 in. long. Raceine -5 to 1-5 in. long; the flowers very
numerous, inverted, '06 in. across ; tho floral hract as long as the stalked twisted ovary.
Petah rather nan-ower than the sepals, rostellum projecting.
Sikliini, neai- Jongri; at an elevation of 13,000 feet; in flower during June
and July; Pantling No. 451.
The flowers are of a deep blacldsh-pui-ple colour.
Pi.ATE 328.—Eisle'ja atro^urpurea, Eing and Pantling. Two plants, of natural sizn. Fig. 1 a
flower, 2 floral bract, stalked ovary, column with a-nther in ixtii, and lip, in profile, 3 lip, 4 apes of
ovaay, coliimn "nith anther ia iiiu, side view, 0 summit of tho ovary, showing the two empty anther
cells and the rosteUmn (r), 6 poUinia ; all much enlarged.
61. Ceratostylis, Hume.
Epiphytic herbs with crowded stems without pseudo-bulbs. Sions tufted, simple and
irush-likc or branched, sheathed, with usually only one leaf. Leaf narrow, coriaceous,
fleshy, or sub-teretc. Flowers minute, solitary or in small clusters and sometimes enveloped
in a cymbifonir sheath mth scarions bracts. Sepals sub-equal, the lateral pair broad at
the base and forming a mentmn M-ith the foot of the cohimn the lateral sepals and tho
base of the lip. Petals naixower than the sepals. Zip spathulate, clawed, expanded, tho
apex thickened and fleshy. Column short, deeply two-lobed, each lobe bearing a stigmatic
area near tho apex of its inner sui-face. Anther dorsal, lying in the sinus between the
lobes of the column; foot of the column long, narrow. FolUnia eight, attached to a
common membrane and that in turn to a gland. Species probably about 10; Malayan,
Indian and Australasian.
CiiEATOSTYUS TERES, Reichb. fil. in Bonplandia, II, 89.
Stems ci-owded, rising from a dense fibrous rliizome, terete, rush-like, sheathed at
the base, crect or cui'ved, bearing a siugle tereto leaf at the apex jointed to and in tho
same line with tho stem. Head of flowers fi'oiu the leaf-joint, '25 to -35 in. in diam.;