4 MR. HEMSLEY ON PLATANTHERA CHLORANTHA, VAR. TRICALCARATA. 
Well, there is no doubt that it is an abnormal condition or variety of 
Platanthero, bifolia, as limited by some botanists; but I prefer treating 
P. bifolia and P. chlorantha as species, and I regard the plant in question as 
belonging to the latter, though the anther-cells are parallel. It presents а 
very rare kind of metamorphosis, namely the metamorphosis of the lateral or 
paired sepals into spurred organs of which the limb is unlike the lip. The 
only other similar instance 1 find recorded is of Orchis pyramidalis, L. 
( Anacamptis pyramidalis, Rich.), by Dr. Faggioli (Atti del Congresso Botanico 
Internazionale di Genova, 1892, p. 521, t. 19. ff. 11-13). I say similar, 
because the limb of the spurred sepals in the Orchis is enlarged, two-lobed, 
and the pose normal ; that is, the ovary is twisted, so that the lip is lowermost. 
Miss Wilson's specimen of Platanthera chlorantha, var. tricalcarata was 
about 22 em. high, but only the inflorescence was saved. It bore ten flowers, 
all of which are modified in exaetly Ше same way, and they are larger than 
ordinary P. bifolia. 
Description.—Ovary straight. Odd sepal about 6 mm. long, broad in the 
lower part, then abruptly constricted and almost linear in the upper part, 
which is incurved over the column, with the margins recurved. Paired sepals 
spurred; spur cylindrical, acute, about 2 cm. long when stretched out, spreading 
at a right angle from the lip, curved upwards and towards the Пр and forming 
almost a semicircle with the tip nearly as high as the orifice; limb horizontal 
in relation to the spur, sickle-shaped with the curve away from the lip, acute, 
about 1 ст. long. Petals very similar to the odd sepal, but oblique at the 
base with a rounded auricle extended in the direction of the lip, narrowed 
upwards and connivent with the odd sepal, tip incurved. Lip uppermost ; 
limb ligulate, about 1 em. long, nearly equal in width throughout, very obtuse 
and bearing one small tubercle on each side at the base ; spur cylindrical or 
slightly compressed, about 2:3 em. long, thickened below the middle, some- 
what acute, curved away from the axis. Staminodia 2, small, adnate to the 
column at the base of each anther-cell, papillose at the top. Column relatively 
large and broad. — Anther-cells distant, parallel.  Caudicle nearly as long as 
the anther, attached to a circular gland. 
From the foregoing description and the accompanying figures, it will be 
perceived that nearly all parts of the three-spurred flower are more or less 
modified, in response, apparently, to the chief modification, which occupies a 
larger basal area than the normal paired sepals. It is also evident that the 
abnormally modified flower presents one at least of the characters commonly 
supposed to be peculiar to P. bifolia, and that is the parallel anther-cells. But 
this modification may be a part of the general deviation from the normal 
condition, because the three-spurred variety has the long caudicle and circular 
gland of normal P. chlorantha. 
The flowers of Orchids present probably a greater variety of deviations 
from the ordinary or normal structure than any other natural order of plants, 
