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Catasetum (This genus comprises nearly)

This genus comprises nearly forty species, natives of tropical America, extending from Brazil as far as Mexico. Lip fleshy, sessile at the base of the column; pollen masses four. To the species and varieties described on pp. 279-80, Vol. I., the following should now be added: C. Bungerothi (Bungeroth's).* fl. white, very showy; sepals and petals lanceolate, very acute, spreading; lip large, transversely oblong, deeply concave, shortly and obtusely spurred, bidentate at apex; racemes many-flowered. l. lanceolate, very acute, 8in. to 9in. long, 1 1/2in. to 2in. broad. Pseudo-bulbs fusiform, 5in. to 9in. long. Equatorial America, 1887. (B. M. 6998; G. C. ser. iii., i., p. 142; I. H. ser. v. 10.) C. B. aureum (golden). fl. light yellow. Venezuela. A distinct variety. C. B. Pottsianum (Potts'). fl., petals prettily marked with purple; centre of the lip having a few spots. 1887.

C. Christyanum (Christy's). fl. large, spreading, each with a narrow bract at base; sepals dark reddish-or chocolate-brown, the dorsal one erect, the lateral ones spreading; petals lighter brown, pale-spotted at base; lip green and purplish, short, with a bluntly conical, saccate pouch and a three-lobed limb, the lateral lobes with long, purple fringes; raceme erect, six-flowered. Autumn. l. lanceolate-lorate, acuminate, plaited. Stems fusiform, jointed, 6in. to 8in. long. Amazons. (W. O. A. 83.) C. C. obscurum (obscure). fl., sepals and petals blackish purple; side lobes of the lip dark, rich purple, the middle lobe brownish-olive-green, and the wall around the mouth of the apex light ochre, marked with red. 1885. C. costatum (ribbed). fl., sepals and petals yellowish; side lobes of the lip erect, triangular, the upper border ciliated; "the mid-lobe.... goes out into a low, blunt, small triangle, standing over the long, blunt conus, so very remarkable by the presence of some lighter ribs running at each side, but which are not very conspicuous as long as the lip is fresh" (Reichenbach). 1887.

C. cristatum stenosepalum (narrow-sepaled). fl., sepals purplish-brown, narrow; petals entire, purple, striated with dark purple. 1887. (I. H. ser. v. 71.) C. fimbriatum (fringed). fl. yellowish-green; sepals linear, apiculate; petals rather longer, fleshy; lip fleshy, three-lobed, the lobes fringed with long, mostly bifid fimbriae; scape about nine-flowered. l. lanceolate, acuminate, slightly plicate. Pseudobulbs about 6in. long, six to eight-leaved. Pernambuco. (B. M. 3708.) C. f. viridulum (greenish). fl., sepals and petals green, spotted reddish-purple; column greenish-white, spotted with purple. 1886. C. galeritum (fur-capped). fl. rather large; sepals and petals pale green, spotted brown, oblong, acute; lip pale green, saccate, oblong, conical at apex, ochreous in front, marked pale green around the mouth, and marked brown on a yellow ground inside; raceme several-flowered, lax. Columbia (?), 1886. C. glaucoglossum (glaucous-lipped), fl. large; sepals brown, ligulate, acute; petals glaucous, spotted brown, much larger than the sepals, oblong, acute; lip glaucous, spotted brown inside, having a depressed, rounded sac, and a triangular mouth; raceme stout, bearing several flowers, deflexed. Mexico, 1885. A curious species.

C. Lehmanni (Lehmann's). fl. in a loose, drooping raceme; sepals and petals green, equal, ovate, acute, connivent in a globe; lip yellowish-flesh-colour, semi-orbicular-saccate, trilobed. l. narrow-lanceolate. Columbian Andes, 1886. A curious, but by no means beautiful, species. (R. G. 1223, a.g.) C. pileatum (capped). fl. white, rather large; sepals narrow-oblong, acute; petals broadly oblong, acute; lip large, broadly triangular, with a bluntly conical spur; column with a very long beak. 1886.

C. sanguineum (bloody). fl. greenish, speckled with brown or dull red, not at all handsome, disposed in a close raceme; sepals and petals turned upwards; lip lacerated, except at the base. October and November. l. light glaucous-green. Pseudo-bulbs 6in. to 7in. long. Central America, 1850. C. s. integrale (entire). fl. having the anterior lip wholly entire. 1887. C. tabulare serrulata (serrulated). fl. green, yellowish-white, and blush-white, the side margins of the lip serrulated. 1886. (R. G. 1223, h-m.) C. tapiriceps (tapir-headed). fl. numerous; sepals green; petals brown; lip orange, trigono-sacciform, the free margin toothleted, the side laciniae revolute, the middle one with a transverse, emarginate keel not far from the margin; column resembling "a Malayan tapir, with its curved trunk." Brazil, 1888.

C. tridentatum bellum (pretty). A variety having purplish brown sepals, and a large, purplish-brown blotch on either side the lip. Brazil, 1886. C. Trulla (trowel-shaped). fl. green and brown; sepals and petals spreading, oval, flat; lip much the shape of a trowel, not at all hollowed out into a bag, but merely concave like the bowl of a spoon, the edges fringed; column short, tendrilled. South America, 1840. (B. R. xxvii. 34.) The variety sub-imberbe has no fringe to the lip. 1887.

C. T. maculatissimum (much-spotted). fl., sepals, petals, and the anterior part of the sides of the column covered with brown spots; anterior side of the lateral lobes of the lip having well-developed fringes. 1888.