ORCHIDACEAE 329 
lip colored like the petals, shorter than the sepals, 3-lobed, the lateral lobes barely crisped, 
the middle lobe suborbicular, crisped : capsules elliptic-oblong, 2-2.5 cm. long. 
In woods, Virginia to Missouri, Florida, Texas and Mexico. Summer. 
34. BLETIA R. & P. 
Caulescent herbs, terrestrial, or inhabiting trees. Leaves few : blades elongated, firm, 
plaited. Flowers in terminal spikes or racemes. Sepals and lateral petals similar and 
nearly equal. Lip jointed, 5-lobed, hooded, without a spur, crested on the upper surface. 
Column elongated, free, half-terete. Anther fleshy, lid-like. Pollen-masses 8, each pair 
with a stalk. Capsules somewhat elongated, erect or drooping. 
1. Bletia verecánda Sw. Flowering stem lateral, 3-9 dm. tall, simple, with several 
remote short sheathing scales, sooner or later accompanied by a leafy shoot: leaves imbri- 
cated at the base: racemes elongated, simple : bracts very small, 1-4 mm. long: pedicels 
longer than the bracts: perianth showy, mainly deep pink or purplish : sepals oblong to 
oblong-ovate, 1-1.5 cm. long : lateral petals nearly oval, about as long as the sepals, con- 
cave, slightly wavy-margined : lip 1-1.5 em. long, recurved, the middle lobe crisped, 
EO with 7-9 crests, these running as ridges to the base, the lateral lobes broad and 
ear-like. 
In low, pine lands, peninsular Florida. Also in the West Indies. Spring to fall. 
35. TRIORCHOS Small & Nash. 
Terrestrial herbs, with the flower-stalk lateral and distinct from the leafy stem. 
Leaves erect : blades several-ribbed, those of the flower-stalk reduced to almost bladeless 
sheaths: raceme with narrow elongated bracts. Perianth rather inconspicuous. Sepals 
and lateral petals oblong to elliptic, the lateral sepals slightly adnate to the foot of the 
column, the petals somewhat smaller than the sepals, not adnate to the column-foot. Lip 
crestless, 3-lobed, the lateral lobes widely spreading. Column with thick margins, the foot 
concave and grooved, not dilated. Capsules erect, ribbed. 
. 1. Triorchos ecristatus (Fernald) Small. Tubers several together, 2-2.5 cm. in 
diameter: leaves mainly near the base of the stem ; blades erect, nearly linear to nar- 
rowly linear-elliptie, 2-5 dm. long, acute, strongly 3-ribbed, reduced to sheathing scales 
'above: scape solitary, slender, 4-21 dm. tall: raceme simple, 6-12 cm. long: pedicels 
1-5 mm. long: bracts lanceolate to linear-lanceolate, the lower ones 3-5 cm. long, surpassing 
the flowers: perianth brown : sepals oblong or nearly so, 8-10 mm. long : lateral petals 
similar to the sepals: lip crestless, deeply 3-lobed, the middle lobe 5-6 mm. broad, sub- 
orbicular, crenulate, the lateral lobes slightly shorter than the middle one, oblong to 
obovate-oblong : capsules erect, elliptic to oblong-elliptic, about 2 cm. long. 
In dry pine lands, eastern and peninsular Florida. Spring and fall. 
36. PLATYPUS Small & Nash. 
Terrestrial plants, with the flower-stalk lateral and distinct from the leafy stem. 
Leaves erect: blades flat, several-ribbed, those of the flower-stalk reduced to almost or 
wholly bladeless sheaths. Raceme elongated, rather inconspicuously bracted. Perianth 
relatively showy. Lateral sepals slightly broadened upward, adnate to and decurrent to 
the base of the dilated and forked foot of the column. Lateral petals shorter than the 
lateral sepals, only partially decurrent on the column-foot. Lip with a crest of nipple-like 
papillae, shallowly 3-lobed, the lateral lobes directed forward. Capsules ascending or 
spreading, ribbed. 
l. Platypus papillíferus Small & Nash. Stems 5-10 dm. tall, furnished with long 
sheathing scales: leaves (normal) developed sooner or later in a cluster beside the stem ; 
blades firm, nearly linear or narrowly linear-elliptic, 2-5 dm. long, acuminate, several- 
ribbed, sheathing at the base: racemes 1-3 dm. long, loosely flowered : bracts 3-6 mm. 
long, about as long as the pedicels at maturity: perianth rather showy : sepals oblong or 
slightly broadened upward, acute, about 1.5 cm. long: lateral petals barely as long as the 
sepals, but broader: lip fully 1.5 cm. long, the middle lobe reniform or orbicular-reni- 
form, 8-10 mm. broad, crisped, not notched, with nipple-like papillae, the lateral lobes 
rounded, with 2 crests between them: column fully } as long as the lip. 
In moist soil, everglades, peninsular Florida. 
