[Illustration: PL. 132. LÆLIA DAYANA.] LÆLIA DAYANA. [Plate 132.] Native of Brazil. Epiphytal. _Stems_ short, clustered, oblong, somewhat clavate, invested by dry membranous pale brown scales, the stronger and younger flowering stems with two or three blunter sheaths of a pale green colour. _Leaves_ elliptic-oblong, acute, three inches long, fleshy coriaceous, solitary. _Scape_ terminal, one-flowered, issuing from a leafy spathe. _Flowers_ nearly four inches across, showy, on account of the rich and strongly contrasted colouring of the lip; _sepals_ lanceolate acute, entire, recurved at the top, pale lilac-mauve; _petals_ ovate acute, broader and somewhat deeper coloured than the sepals; _lip_ three-lobed, the lateral lobes having the sides convolute over the column, of a pale lilac-mauve, the truncately rounded denticulate front edge recurved, and together with the subquadrate emarginate undulated and recurved front lobe of a rich purple-magenta, contrasting strongly with the diluted mauve-purple of the sepals, petals, and base of lip; the _throat_ is white, marked by seven deep purple carinæ, which are depressed and more or less wavy on the edges. _Column_ quite enclosed, angulate on both sides at the apex. Lælia Dayana, _Reichenbach fil._, in _Gardeners’ Chronicle_, N.S., vi., 772. Lælia pumila Dayana, _Burbidge_, _Floral Magazine_, N.S., t. 249. This species belongs to a group of small-growing _Lælias_, several of which are most beautiful. That of which we are at present treating is, however, one of the best of this group. There are several forms of it to be met with in gardens, but that which we have figured we consider to be the type. It was first flowered by and named in honour of John Day, Esq., of Tottenham, and was imported by Messrs. Low & Co., from Brazil, some years ago, together with a batch of _L. pumila_, so that it is now well distributed, and is to be seen in nearly all collections of any importance. It is a most useful plant, and has many good qualities to recommend it, amongst which we may mention that it is dwarf-growing as well as free-blooming, and it is of easy cultivation, thriving under the cool treatment given to Odontoglots, which it seems to enjoy. Our drawing was taken from a well-grown plant in the collection of J. Buchanan, Esq., of Oswald Road, Morningside, Edinburgh, who has some well-grown specimens of the different classes of Orchids which are well cared for by Mr. Grossart, the gardener.