fe
f
va-
• m
m
i' ii,
1
••••li iti-
; \ \ jj
t
1
H i
f. 1
1 ' !
.if Oaua. iuh. 3 K/riJi. Oarrnt. Muí/ini Sf'
C Y C N O C H E S VEWTRICOSÜM.
A/, 'i, . X-^.,. T..« .VM / m?
•(fif
f
í''
'.'lili!
TAB. V.
CYCNOCHES' VEN I RICOSUM :
rjENTRICOSE'LTPPEJ) CYCNOCHES.
TniBüs: VANDEJ3.—LTNDLEY.
C Y C N O C H E S . — G e n . et S¡>. Ordì. 154.
PEKIA.VTUIUM explanatum. Sépala laícralia lanceolata, basi panluliiin .sub
l a b e l l o c o n o a t a ; supremo angustiore. Peíala latiora, lalcafu, deciirva. Labelluiii
l i b e n i n i , ecalcaratum, eolumná continuum, huiccolatum aut ventricosum, integerrlmuui,
ungue abrupto calloso. Columna elongata, arcuata, teres, apice chivata,
aiirienlis duabus íalcati.s ad latera clinandrii. Antbera bllocularis. Poi li nía 2,
postice sulcata, subpedicellata, caudiculà lineari, gianduia gro.ssà. Herbii' epiphytie,
caulibus incrassati.s vestigìls ibliorum cinctis. Folia plicata lanceolata, basi vaginantia.
Racemi niuliiflori, penduli, ex axillis Ibliorum superiorum orti. Flores
maximi, odorati.
CYCKOCUES sepalis petalis que lanceolatis acuiìiinatis reflexis, labello integro ventricoso acuininatu,
basi calloso, ungue brevi ; coluniuà arcuati sepalo supremo duplo breviore.
Habitat iu Guatemala.—.SKINNER.
ScscríptioiT.
AN JEPIPJI YTF.. STEMS fleshy, sìigbtly coinpresseil, about a foot high, beariiu/ flvc, or sia:
lanceolate, acute, plicated LEA VES, of which the iippennoxt are the Umgest. After the flowering
seaaon, these leaves fall off', the stem becomes shorter and more swollen, and is then deeply murhed by
longitudinal line-i, as well as by horizontal eontractionx, at the points from whence, the le.ar.es full.
From the uxih of the upper leaves proceed the RACEHES, sometimes two or more al the same time,
but more usually in succession; cucii of these bears about five FLOWERS, which open simultaneonsly,
lasting about three dugs. The raccme w at first horizon tul, but is afterwards weighed down by the
flowers, which, consequently, are always seen in an inverted position. SEPALS lanceolate, acuviiuate,
the upper one being rather narrower, and the. lateral ones slightly vnguiculate. PETALS brnader
than the sepals, curved downwards, of a light green colovr, as are also the sepals. Lw somewhat
heart-shaped, very much swollen on the upper side, hollow underneath, of the purest tvhite, comuiunieatiny
with the column by a short CLA W, which, at its junction with the base of the lip, presents a
black callosity. COLUay round and club-shaped, only half the length of the upper .-^epal, and
at its extremity, hearing two small falcate horns, which guard the ASTUER. CAPSVLE very large,
oblong, bearing innumerable minute SEEDS.
AMONG the Orchidaceous genera, Cycnoches will ever be conspicuous, as yielding one of the
most notable examples of the strange propensity of its tribe to mimic the ibrms of animated nature.
The Genus WIIS founded by Professor LINDLEY, upon a remarkable plant from Surinam (the C. Loddigesii),
the ^pals and petals of ivhich bore as close a resemblance to the expanded wings of a swan, as did the
colunni to the long arching neck of the same graceful bird; and these peculiarities are well expressed in
the name Cycnoches {Anglice, " swan-neck"). For upwards of four years, the genus had consisted of only
a solitary species, when a second made its appearance in the person of our present subject, which was
II, ami aiix'i' i a "«clti "llusiun lo ilic column of this plain, whicb is tl like the neck ofa sv