Rhodora 
JOURNAL OF 
THE NEW ENGLAND BOTANICAL CLUB 
Vol. 5 November, 1903 No. 59 
NATURAL HYBRIDS IN SPIRANTHES AND 
HABENARIA. 
OAKES AMES. 
(Plate 47.) 
AN interesting natural hybrid derived from Spiranthes gracilis, 
Bigelow, and S. praecox, Watson, was detected recently in Easton, 
Massachusetts, growing in close proximity to the parent species in an 
open dry field. A single specimen, together with several specimens 
of S. Praecox, was collected on September 3, 1903, by A. A. Eaton, 
who, though he suspected the origin of the odd specimen, sent it with- 
out comment to the writer. So it happened that independently of 
each other two people arrived at similar conclusions. A second and 
third trip to the same locality brought to light a dozen specimens, all 
quite intermediate in character and distinctly hybrid. ‘The resem- 
blance between these hybrids and one parent or the other would 
readily mislead a collector whose interests were not specially con- 
cerned with this particular group of orchids, and it would not be 
strange if such hybrids have been grouped arbitrarily with SPzraztAes 
praecox or S. gracilis. To obtain the relatively few plants, which 
have been studied for the preparation of this note, a large area was 
searched and the material collected carefully examined. 
The Spiranthes gracilis which should be regarded as a parent of 
the hybrids in question is the typical New England form, which 
blooms in late summer and early autumn. Likewise the S. praecox, 
with which we are concerned, is the New England form which usually 
completes its season of bloom by the end of the second week in Sep- 
tember. These remarks may seem quite commonplace, but they are 
