[4] The idea that _Cuitlauzina pendula_ might possibly be identical with _Odontoglossum citrosmum_ had more than once occurred to myself, but Lexarza's character of the flower-scape,--which he described as "_bracteis destitutus_,"--had always proved an insuperable difficulty. It seems, however, that the scapes of the other _Odontoglossa_ that he met with happened to be entirely clothed with large inflated bracts; our present plant therefore, in which they occur only at long intervals and are exceedingly minute, may in comparison be said to be almost "destitute" of them.
[5] Mr. Skinner has lately received from Guatemala some magnificent specimens of _O. grande_, which are incorporated with _masses of Fern_ and other shade-loving plants. Cultivators might make a good practical use of the well-known maxim "_noscitur a sociis_" in this case.
[6] I copy Sir Robert's description of the locality in which these plants were found, in the hope that some collector may be induced to visit so interesting a region:--"The _Diothonea_ was met with on the high mountain-chain between the sixty-fifth and sixty-sixth meridian and the fourth parallel of latitude, at an elevation of 6-7000 feet above the sea-level. The summits of those elevations are thickly covered with two species of Lichen, the white colour of which conveys the supposition that the ground is covered with snow. The thermometer stood frequently in the morning at 57° F., which, connected with the snow-white Lichens, powerfully reminded us of a winter landscape. Indeed, the stunted trees, with grey tortuous branches, would have assisted to make the picture complete, if numerous _Orchidaceæ_, conjointly with green Mosses, had not clothed them. Indeed, it was the _Orchidaceæ_ alone that gave the vegetation a tropical aspect.... We discovered the _Maxillaria_ near Mount Maravaca."--_Lindl. Sert. Orch._ _sub t._ xl.
[7] I allude of course to those remarkable works of Dr. Lindley, the _Orchidearum Genera et Species_ and the _Folia Orchidacea_ (the latter of which he was not destined to complete), with which the science of Orchidology may be said to have arisen, and which will continue its text-books for all time to come.
[8] It may be well, once for all, to state that in the case of species that have not been long imported, and which have therefore not had time to acquire their full strength, the number and arrangement of flowers in the figures is taken from native specimens where such are available. It sometimes happens that the "wild" standard is never reached in cultivation, but it is more frequently exceeded.