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Calanthe (About forty species mostly)

About forty species, mostly natives of tropical Asia, are comprised in this genus. To those described on pp. 236-7, Vol. I., the following should now be added:

C. anchorifera (anchor-bearing). fl. whitish-ochre; sepals oblong, apiculate; petals very small, rhomboid, obtuse-angled; lateral segments of the lip ligulate, retuse, antrorse, the anterior one bilobed and bent like an anchor; spur filiform; bracts short, velvet; peduncle hairy. Polynesia, 1883. C. bella (beautiful). fl. disposed in long, arched racemes, as large as those of C. Turneri; sepals white; petals blush; lip blush-pink, broad, deeply four-lobed, with a deep carmine-crimson blotch surrounded by white; column dark crimson; spur pale yellow. Pseudo-bulbs as in C. vestita. 1881. A hybrid between C. Turneri and C. Veitchii.

C. bracteosa (bracted). fl. white; sepals and petals cuneate-oblong, apiculate; lip with a short isthmus, linear acute lateral segments, and a broader anterior one; spur filiform; bracts much developed, sometimes exceeding the flowers. Samoa, 1882.

C. Ceciliae (Miss Cecilia Weld's). fl. light ochre, with a delicate hue of purple; sepals and petals obovate, acute; lip four-cleft, the lateral segments oblong-ligulate, dilated, the middle one sub-sessile, bifid, the calli very deep yellow; spur slender, filiform. Malayan Peninsula, 1883. C. colorans (coloured). fl. white; sepals and petals oblong, acute; lip changing to ochre, with calli of gamboge-yellow; spur shorter than the pale ovary, generally bidentate at apex; raceme rather dense, elongated, the rachis, bracts, ovaries, and sepals velvety. 1885. (W. O. A. 218.) C. Curtisii (Curtis'). fl., sepals and petals rosy outside, white inside, the petals and lateral sepals with rosy borders; lip yellow, with a very short, rather triangular, blunt lobe on each side of the base, the middle segment cuneate, dilated from the narrow base, the callus purple; column white and rosy. l. long-petiolate, cuneate-oblong, acute. Sunda Islands, 1884. C. dipteryx (two-winged). fl. suffused rich purple; sepals, rachis, bracts, pedicels, and ovaries puberulous outside; basilar partition of the lip triangular, obtuse, short, scarcely reaching half the breadth of the anterior lacinia; callus purple, in three rows; isthmus very short. Sunda Islands, 1884. Allied to C. pleichroma.

C. Forstermanni (Forstermann's). fl., sepals and petals yellow, oblong, acute; lip whitish-yellow, reniform, with an apiculus; spur clavate, half the length of the stalked ovary; bracts rather thin, exceeding the flowers; peduncle distantly sheathed, densely racemose at apex. l. petiolate, oblong-lanceolate, acute, 3ft. long. Birma, 1883.

C. Langei (Lange's). fl. deep yellow, numerous, crowded; dorsal sepal ovate, acute, the lateral ones lanceolate; petals ovate, acute; lip spathulate-obovate, apiculate, with minute, deltoid side lobes, and two slight elevations at the base; raceme 3in. to 4in. long; scape shorter than the leaves. l. lanceolate, 2ft. long, 2 1/2in. broad. New Caledonia, 1885. C. lentiginosa (freckled). fl. white; sepals hairy outside; lip well developed, four-lobed, much plaited, having three blunt keels, and numerous purple spots, the basilar lobes turned over so as to form a cover inside; spur long, antrorse, curved, hairy. Pseudo-bulbs obpyriform. 1883. Hybrid. C. natalensis (Natal). fl. 1in. to 1 1/2in. in diameter, pale lilac, with a darker, redder lip, or with the sepals and petals white and suffused with lilac towards the margins only; sepals ovate-lanceolate, acuminate; petals shorter and broader; lip about as long as the sepals; raceme 6in. to 8in. long; scape longer than the leaves, erect. l. five to seven, all radical, 8in. to 12in. long, 3in. to 5in. broad, elliptic-lanceolate. Natal. (B. M. 6844.) C. porphyrea (porphyry-colour). fl. in a zigzag raceme; sepals and petals dazzling purple, oblong, acute; lip yellowish at base, with small, purple spots, three-lobed, the side lobes involved, the anterior one purple, emarginate, protruded; spur ochre, nearly equalling the stalked ovary; peduncle hairy. Pseudo-bulbs constricted, fusiform. 1884. Hybrid. C. proboscidea (snout-like). fl. white, changing to lightest ochre, with a few vermilion markings on the lip, the short nail of which descends and the large blade stands at right angles with it, having four laciniae; anterior part of the column curved down, like the snout of some insects Sunda Islands, 1884. Allied to C. furcata.

C. Regnieri (Regnier's). fl. eight to ten, about 2in. across; sepals white, recurved; petals white, with a faint rosy, central stripe; lip elbowed or inflexed near the base so as to project forwards, three-lobed, lively rose-pink, with a deep crimson, central spot; spur recurved, about 1in. long; scapes woolly, 1 1/2ft. to 2ft. high, with large bracts. Pseudo-bulbs leafless, large, with a contracted mouth. Cochin China, 1883. C. R. fausta (lucky). A fine variety, having the column and base of the lip of the darkest and warmest purple. 1884.

C. rosea (rosy). fl. pale rose, shading to white on the lip, which is oblong, flat, retuse; spur straight, obtuse, horizontal; column tomentose; bracts recurved, shorter than the ovary; scape manyflowered, longer than the leaves. l. oblong-lanceolate, plicate, glabrous. Pseudo-bulbs fusiform. Moulmein. SYN. Limatodes rosea (B. M. 5312; P. F. G. iii. 81).

C. Sanderiana (Sander's). fl. disposed in strong, many-flowered spikes; sepals and petals rosy; lip rosy-crimson, similar to that of C. Regnieri. Spring.