OECHIDS OF THE S IK Kill-HIM A LAY A.
•wliite, faintly tinged -with pale yellow.The flowers i The anthei is of deep
yellow.
Px*TE 360.—Trppidia curcvligioidcs, Lindl. Ptirts of a rlEmt, of tiaiwal itse. Fig. 1 floral bract,
ovary and flower, seen from the side, 2 apex of ovary, cclumn witli anther in si in, and lip, siifa vieif,
a lip, 4 apes of ovary, column and anther, 5 anther, 6 poUinia; all «»/«rjirf.
78. Herpysma, Lindl.
A terrestrial herb with leafy succulent stem, deciunhcnt afc tho base, leaves
membranous, elliptic or ovate-lanceolate, pctiolcd; tho sheaths tubular, hyaline. Flowers
crowded in a short sub-scssilo raceme. Sepals sub-equal, free, puberulous, oratc-ohlong,
the dorsal forming a hood with the oblong petals. Zip adnato to the apex and sides
of the column, its base with a long naiTowly cylindrie spur bifid at the apex and
without calli in its interior. Column short, without appendages; the rostellum short,
erect, bifid. Anihcr erect, narrow, 2-celled; polUnia two, narrow, elongate, bipartite at
tho apex only, each attached to a narrow tapering gland. SU-jma one, anticous. A
single species.
He r p y s m a longicaulis, Lindl. in Wall. Cat. 7389; in Bot. Reg.
under t. 1618.
Stem, including the decumbent part, 9 to 15 in. long and from -2 to •25 in. thick,
the part under the leaves bearing pale truncate pubescent unequal membranous sheaths.
Leaves ovate-lanceolate or narrowly-clliptic, tapering to each end, 2 to 3'5 in. long
and -75 to 1-5 in. broad. Petiole about '25 in., its sheath 1 in. or more in length.
Raceme pubescent, 1 to 1-25 in. long, sessile. Fhmrs about -5 in. long, their ovaiies
longer; floral Iract large, oblong-lanccolato, obtuse, nerved, exceeding the ovary. Lip
oblong, doflcxed from the middle, with two rounded toothed erect basal lobes; the
apical lobe sub-quadrate, its apex with a broad blunt apiculus; the disc 'with two
flattish calli about the middle and a lamella between them extending to the tip;
the spur nearly as long as the ovary and parallel to it. Column short, contracted below
the broad pulvinate central stigma. PoUinta elongated, each inserted at the base within
a horn-liko process ending in a gland, pollen-grains flattened. Lindl. Geu. and Spec.
Orch., 506; in Journ. Linn. Soc. I, 178, 190; Hook. fil. Fl. Br. Ind. VI, 98; in Ann.'
Eoy Bot. Gard. Calc., Vol. V, 59, t. 88.
Sikkiin, above Sureil, at elevations from 3,000 to 5,000 feet; Hooker; Pantling
No. 240 ; in flower dm-mg August and September. Nopal; Wallich. Khasia Hills, alt.
4,.500 feet; C. B. Clarke. Daphia Hills; Lister.
The flowers of this arc white, the dorsal aopal and petals having the upper part
of the midrib orange-red or pink, and the latorai sepals being tipped with tho same
colour.
Pr.ATE 367 —S'erpi,'sma longicaulis, Lindl. A plant, of nalurnl size. Tig. 1 floral bract and flower,
2 ovary, column with tho anther <n eilu, tie lip and its spur, seen from the side, 3 upper surface of
tip, 4 view of the back of the column, the antler being in sihi, 5 under surface of, anther, 6 poUinia;
all enlarged.
SPIBANTHES.
79. Physurus, Richard.
Terrestrial leafy herbs, with succulent sterna dccumbcnt at the base. Lenves
thickly membranous, ovate or lanceolato, the petioles broad and sheatliiug at the base.
¡lowers in pedunculate spikes. SepaJs free, tho dorsal smaller than tho two lateral
and, with tho petals, forming a hood. Li\) a'tached to the base of the column
without any claw, erect, produced downwards into a bifid spur parallel with the ovaiy
and extending beyond the ba.-ies of tho sepals, its iuterior without caUi; apical lobe shoit,
broad, recui-ved. Cdimin very short, without appendages. Awher 2-celled. Vollima two,
clavate, bipartite. Stigma single, aciticous. Species about 50, Asiatic and American.
Physubus HEEPYSJioiDES, King and Pantling in Joum. As. Soc. Beng,
Vol. LXV, Pt. 2, 124.
Whole plant 8 to 10 in. high; the stem about '25 in. thick at tho base, leafy
and glabrous, tho peduncle pubescent and bracteolate. Leaves three or four, obliquely
ovate, acute, tapering below to tho channelled sheathing petiole, 5- to 7-nei'ved;
length 2-5 to 4 in., breadth 1'25 to 1'75 in., petiole 1'25 in. Bracts of the peduncle
unequal, nearly 1 in. long, lanceolate, acuminatc, adpressed. Baeeme abrupt, 2 in.
or less in length, pubescent; floral bract finely acuminate, slightly longer than the
ovary. Flowers (to the tip of the spur) about '75 in. long. Sepals oblong-lanceolate,
3-nerved, sparsely pubescent, spreading, '4 in long. Petals linear, dilated towards their
cohering apices, I-ncrved. Lip adpressed to the column, oblong, 5-nervcd; tho terminal
lobe small, transversely oblong, entii-e, deflexed; the side lobes near tho base, erect.
Bub-ti-uncate; the spur shorter than the ovary, wide, slightly inflated below and bifid
at tho apex. Aniher lanceolate. Column with a deep clinandrium. Pollinia clavate, tho
gland linear.
British Bhotan, above Engo; elevation 5,000 feet; in flower during April; Pantling
No. 255. •
This somewhat resembles P. Plumci, Lindl., but has a shorter and less pubesccnt
inflorescencc, longer bracts and larger flowers. The leaves have also twice as many
nerves. The sepals and petals of this are of a pale reddish-bro-mi, and the lip is
white just as in P. Blttmei. Only two specimens of it have been collected as yet.
Pr.ATB 368.—Physurus htrpymoidea, King and Pantling. Tig. 1 a flower, 2 ovary, column and lip,
3 tho petals, 4 tho lip, 5 column and spur, 6 imder surface of anther, 7 pollinia; all tnlaigid.
80. Spiranthes, Riclu
Terrestrial herbs with tuberous or fibrous roots. Skm leafy. Leaves (in the Indian
species) linear. Flowers small, secuud, in a spiral spike. Sipals sub-equal, free, or
Bometimos cohering with the petals to form an erect hood, the lateral pair gibbous at the
base. Lip erect, entire or 3-lobed, the base concave but neither saccate nor spm-red, the
disc bearing lamellcc or calli. Colvmn short, tereie. Stigma single, broad, anticous;
rostollum erect, obtuse or elongate and bifid; anther erect, 2-cclled; pollinia four, united
ill pairs, sessile on a small glaud. Species about 80, temperate and tropical; only one
Indian.